Northern Film and Media

What Northern Film and Media does

Northern Film and Media, now operating as North East Screen, is a regional screen sector development agency founded in 2002 and headquartered in Gateshead, UK. It is designated as the primary public-sector body responsible for supporting the film, television, and digital content industries across the North East of England, funded through the North East Screen Industries Partnership (NESIP) by the North East Combined Authority (NECA) and Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA).

The organisation delivers an integrated suite of services. Its Film Office function connects incoming productions with regional locations and crew. The North East Production Fund provides development and production finance to qualifying projects. The Crew Academy and Skills programmes deliver training for screen sector workers. A talent and business development function supports emerging and established practitioners, and the agency has supported the Women in Film and Television (WFTV) mentoring scheme. Most recently, in partnership with the BBC, it has launched a Digital Accelerator programme extending its remit into digital content development.

The business model is that of a publicly funded agency rather than a commercial enterprise. Revenue derives from grants allocated by NECA and TVCA via NESIP, with no disclosed pricing model for end-user services. Its customers are two-fold: the combined authorities that fund its operations, and the screen sector practitioners and productions that use its services. The organisation employs between 11 and 50 people. The wider economic context is that the North East screen sector generated approximately £88.5 million in GVA and is described as the fastest-growing such sector in the UK, providing the strategic backdrop for the agency's remit.

Name

Northern Film and Media

Legal name

North East Screen

Website

http://www.northernmedia.org/

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NFM is the North East's creative agency, supporting media businesses and driving commercial film and television production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Gateshead

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Funding: North East Screen is funded by combined authorities including Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA) and North East Combined Authority (NECA) through the North East Screen Industries Partnership (NESIP). The agency provides free services to the screen industry including film office support, skills development, and production funding.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

North East Screen (operating as Northern Film and Media) is the designated screen industries development agency for North East England. It connects film and TV productions with skilled crew, diverse filming locations, and local authority liaison via a free Film Office, while providing production investment through the North East Production Fund. The agency also drives talent and business development across the regional screen sector through training programs, mentoring, and partnerships funded by the North East Screen Industries Partnership (NESIP).

Product overview

North East Screen is a screen industries development agency offering a portfolio of interconnected services. The core Film Office connects productions with crew, locations, and local authorities. The North East Production Fund provides investment for high-end content. Skills and Crew Academy develops talent through training and on-set opportunities. Talent and Business Development supports creative companies. The Digital Accelerator (in partnership with BBC) provides digital skills development. These services work together to support productions throughout the filming lifecycle and grow the regional screen sector.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Film Office A free resource connecting film and TV productions shooting in North East England with skilled crew, diverse locations, and filming-friendly local authorities.
• North East Production Fund Investment fund supporting high-end, globally recognised film and TV content made in the North East region.
• Skills and Crew Academy Provides step-up opportunities for mid-career crew and supports new entrants with hands-on experience, on-set shadowing, and expert learning in the screen industry.
• Talent and Business Development Drives sector growth by nurturing talent and empowering businesses, connecting creatives with opportunities and supporting screen industry companies to thrive.
• Digital Accelerator Partnership program with the BBC providing digital skills development, webinars (including BBC Audience Insight), and career workshops for the screen industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• £88.5 million GVA generated by the TV and Film industry in the region

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• North East Screen Industries Partnership (NESIP)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorth East Screen is the lead organization for NESIP, a partnership funded by the North East Combined Authority (NECA) and Tees Valley Combined Authority (TVCA). The partnership drives investment, develops talent, and creates long-term opportunities across film, TV, and digital sectors in the North East.
• BBCflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerBBC Digital Accelerator partnership with North East Screen, delivering programs to develop digital content skills and opportunities including The One Show North East briefing and audience insight webinars.
• Women in Film and Television (WFTV)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerWFTV mentoring scheme partnership supporting women in the industry. North East Screen backs participants including writers and line producers in the annual WFTV mentoring scheme cohort.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Screen Yorkshire: Statutory regional screen agency for Yorkshire & Humber, providing a Film Office, production fund, talent development and skills programmes — the most direct structural analogue to North East Screen in an adjacent UK region.
• Screen Scotland: National screen agency for Scotland delivering film office services, production funding, skills development, and business support — structurally identical to North East Screen's NESIP-funded model in a different UK nation.
• Ffilm Cymru Wales: Wales' national screen agency offering film office, production funding, talent development and audience development services — directly comparable public-sector development model for the screen industries.
• Northern Ireland Screen: Statutory screen agency for Northern Ireland providing film office, production funding (including co-productions), skills development and sector support — same public-mandate structure as North East Screen.

Broad incumbents

• Film London: London's screen agency running Film Office, production services, and skills programmes at much greater scale. Overlapping mandate and service model but serving a far larger and more established production ecosystem.
• ScreenSkills: UK-wide industry skills body funded by the BFI providing training, CPD, and crew development for the screen sector — overlaps with North East Screen's Skills & Crew Academy and Digital Accelerator functions at national scale.
• British Film Institute (BFI): UK's lead body for film, providing Lottery funding, policy, archives, and audience development — sits upstream of regional agencies like North East Screen and ultimately underpins the funding architecture NESIP draws from.
• Creative UK: National membership body for the creative industries (formerly Creative England and Creative Industries Federation), offering business support, investment, and policy advocacy that overlaps with North East Screen's Talent & Business Development remit.

Regional players

• Screen Manchester: Manchester City Council's film office covering Greater Manchester — directly comparable Film Office function but operating inside a metropolitan local authority rather than a combined-authority-funded regional partnership.
• Liverpool Film Office: Liverpool City Region's film office providing production support, location services and crew facilitation — a comparable free film-office service model operating within a single city-region in the North West of England.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/northernmedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/northernfilmmedia
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/northern-film-and-media

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Northern Film and Media