Good afternoon Insiders, Max Goldbart here taking you through what has been a whirlwind of a week in international TV and film.
Do not stop here — please do read on. And sign up here. £1B worth of sweeteners: It was a potentially “game-changing” week for a floundering British indie film sector with the unveiling of a 40% tax relief on movies with budgets less than £15M ($19M) — a relief that trade body Pact says it has been calling for in some form or another since 2017 and which answers the prayers of Culture, Media & Sport Committee boss Caroline Dinenage.
Jeremy Hunt’s budget was perhaps the most listened-to and most celebrated for a decade by the creative industries after the UK Chancellor unveiled the relief with fanfare alongside 40% business rates relief for big studios and improved VFX relief.
All in all, Hunt and the UK treasury said that the various sweeteners will be worth more than £1B in additional relief over the next five years — not to be sniffed at. “It’s extraordinary”: The biggest names in the UK biz were out in force to hail the 40% relief, which is seeking to give a shot in the arm to a once world-beating indie sector that birthed the likes of Ken Loach, Mike Leigh and Bend it Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha.
Read more on deadline.com