As the prestigious Global Production Awards are just days away, we take a look at the UK nominees on this year’s shortlist and hear exclusively from some of them about making the cut…

The awards ceremony takes place on 20 May, during the Cannes Film Festival, at Mademoiselle Gray Plage Barrière.   

City of Film – UK nominee: Bristol

To be awarded to a city whose work in recent years has helped deliver for TV and filmmakers and at the same time helped develop local skills and expertise whilst boosting the local economy.

Bristol

Recent film and TV productions filmed in Bristol include the third series of Stephen Merchant’s comedy-thriller The Outlaws; upcoming Jilly Cooper adaptation Rivals; Alex Rider; Boarders; Truelove and Rain Dogs.

Laura Aviles, head of film, Bristol City Council, said: “It’s fantastic to see Bristol nominated for this prestigious international film industry award, especially considering Bristol was on the map during last year’s ceremony too, when The Bottle Yard Studios won the Sustainable Initiative Award for the 1MW rooftop solar array at its new TBY2 facility. “

Location of the Year – UK nominees: West Horsley Place, Location Collective and Orkney Islands, Screen Scotland.

To be awarded to a single location for its work across one or multiple film and TV productions.

West Horsley Place, Location Collective

West Horsley Place has facilitated numerous high-profile productions since Location Collective first began exclusively managing the site in 2015, transforming the location into a sought-after canvas for storytelling in film and television.

The Grade I-listed, 642-year-old medieval manor house has been the backdrop to many productions including: Enola Holmes, The Crown, My Cousin Rachel, Stan & Ollie, Mothering Sunday, Vanity Fair, Howard’s End and all five series of Ghosts.

Becky Butler, MD at Location Collective, said: “We thoroughly enjoy working with the team at West Horsley Place. Their professionalism, flexibility and understanding of filmmaking needs has meant the process of facilitating filming hires at the location has been seamless.”

Orkney Islands, Screen Scotland 

Scotland’s Orkney Islands recently provided the backdrop and story setting for feature film The Outrun, that premiered at Sundance this year. Saoirse Ronan plays a woman who returns to her childhood home, hoping the reconnection with the stunning landscape will help heal her troubled past. It was filmed on location in the Orkney Islands including the island of Papay; the first feature film to shoot in the Islands.

Cheryl Conway from Screen Scotland told The Knowledge: “Orkney is visually astounding and plays an integral role in The Outrun. Not only does it support the authenticity of the story, but its wild, and often uncompromising nature is a character in its own right – transporting the audience to these Neolithic islands where the impact of mother nature lingers with you long after the film ends. It is such an incredible achievement for a Scottish location to make such an impact on the story, characters, and viewers.”

Studio of the Year – UK nominees: Garden Studios; Sky Studios Elstree; Versa London Studios.

To be awarded to a studio complex for adaptability and outstanding service to productions.

Garden Studios

Established in 2020, Garden Studios is the largest-scale film studio in central London with a total footprint of 300,173 sq ft, with five sound stages totalling 48,025 sq ft. Productions to have filmed there include My Lady Jane, Toast of Tinseltown and The Narrows.

Thomas Hoegh, CEO and founder, Garden Studios, spoke to The Knowledge about making the shortlist of nominees: “Garden Studios is thrilled to be a finalist for the second year in a row. It’s only our fourth year of operation so it means a lot to be recognized. We have big ambitions to support the expansion of a ground-up media hub in Park Royal London, as well as continue to attract talented creatives on both sides of the camera to our campus.”

Sky Studios Elstree

Sky Studios Elstree is a major studio complex in Borehamwood, Hertfordshire. With 12 sound stages, it has opened with some big hitters: the double-feature version of Wicked, Parts One and Two, filmed there for seven months from December 2022, and behemoth dinosaur feature Jurassic World 4 is lining up to shoot later this year.  

Noel Tovey, managing director, Sky Studios Elstree, told us: ‘We’re delighted to be shortlisted for Studio of the Year at the Global Production Awards. We are incredibly proud of our newly opened 12-stage film and TV studio, which has already welcomed some of the biggest productions to film in the UK over the last decade including the feature film adaptation of Wicked, Paddington in Peru and Sky Original Bad Tidings.

“We’re thrilled that we have also recently been recognised by BAFTA albert as the world’s most sustainable film and TV studio, something that is core to our business. We can’t wait for the awards ceremony.”

Versa London Studios

Versa London Studios is a 10,000 sq ft studio in West London, close to TV Centre, White City.  With a further 20,000 sq ft of production facilities including production galleries, dressing rooms, production offices, scene dock, crew facilities, unit parking and the Versa Club room, Versa London is open to all types of productions. It opened in late 2021 with the inaugural production being Simon Cowell’s Walk the Line.

The VERSA team has previously welcomed recent brand campaigns for The Exquisite Gucci, Nike Tech, Lacoste and New Balance x Cat Burns; TV entertainment shows – Martin Lewis Live, The John Bishop Show, BBC Morning Live, Justin’s House, Celebability, Life Stories with Kate Garraway and Bafta winning Friday Night Live, Saturday Night Takeaway amongst others, and dramas – Bodies, Platform 7, Funny Woman and Boat Story.

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion – UK nominee: Queens, Wildstar Films

Wildstar’s wildlife documentary Queens centres on female leaders within the animal kingdom, and was produced by a woman-led crew.

The series producer and writer Chloe Sarosh told the audience at a recent Royal Television Society event: “We had to make… a whole new model… that supported women, allowed it to be possible that you could make a film like this even if you didn’t step into the field.”

Sustainability Initiative – UK nominees: Food Waste Heroes Programme, Olio and The Grid Project, Film London.

Michelle Jenkins, head of production services at Film London, spoke to The Knowledge: “We’re delighted that the Grid Project has been recognised as a leading sustainability initiative. We are immensely proud to have launched this landmark pilot, supplying renewable energy to productions in London.

“We must continue to work together to address environmental challenges, implement new sustainable solutions, and take action to reduce industry emissions.”

Virtual Innovation Production Award – UK nominees: Arri Stage London; Fallout, MBSi, US and UK; Real-Time Remote: 5G Virtual Production, Abertay Uni, Royal Holloway Uni of London-StoryFutures, Space Digital, TayScreen+Tay Cities Deal & Scotland 5G Centre; Virtual Production & Sustainability: Oracle Red Bull Racing Campaign; Final Pixel, XPLOR / Production Park.  

Kevin Schwutke, senior vice president, Solutions, ARRI, said: “The Global Production Awards showcase the exceptional efforts from studio and location teams using the latest technical innovations to bring the very best content to the screen. Being shortlisted is testament to ARRI Stage London’s in-house team of virtual production specialists.

“Together they have established an industry-leading facility that combines effective stage design, highest-quality LED, camera, and lighting hardware with precise, integrated workflows and ARRI colour management to create a powerful virtual production environment that enables filmmaking and corporate clients to push the technology further than ever before.”

Jim Farmery, director of external affairs, Production Park, said “We are really excited about the work we’ve been doing in virtual production at Production Park and the vast range of opportunities that it now brings to clients like RedBull and ITV.

“It’s always great for this work to be recognised and we are very proud to be nominated for the Global Production Awards”

The remaining categories and nominees are:

Physical Production Innovation Award – UK nominees: Food Waste Heroes Programme, Olio; Hybrid Generator Initiative, On-Set Location Services; Powering Innovation with Hybrid Solutions, Neptune Sustainability; CAMA AssetCycle: Innovating Circularity, CAMA AssetStore.

Sustainable Production Award (scripted) – UK nominees:  Belgravia: The Next Chapter and Hijack, 60Forty Films and Idiotlamp Prods in association with Apple TV+.

Sustainable Production Award (non-scripted) – UK nominees: A League of Their Own, CPL, Picture Zero and Sky; The Coronation Concert, BBC Studios Events.