TV and film talent showcase

Jun 2 2009 by Barbara Hodgson, The Journal

A ONE-STOP online shop will be showcasing North East talent from today to film and TV companies across the UK and internationally.

Northern Exposure is launching today with an online database holding details of more than 3,000 freelance crew, production companies and facilities for those interested in shooting in the area.

Newcastle-based Northern Film & Media Regional has joined other screen agencies in the North West and Yorkshire to launch the database which its chief executive Tom Harvey calls “a fantastic tool” to link local talent with the wider market. He said: “It has been well publicised in recent months that the North East has suffered from a lack of network TV and film production.

“Northern Exposure forms part of Northern Film & Media’s strategy to promote the talent we have in the region to the global industry and entice population back to the North East.”

It joins forces with Northwest Vision and Screen Yorkshire to promote the database which will help maximise job opportunities for crew and creative and digital talents who are based across the North, right down to Sheffield.

And it means that programme and film-makers will be able to find the details of crews who have, for instance, had experience of working on big name productions such as the Keira Knightley film Atonement and TV successes such as Wire In The Blood and 55 Degrees North, shot in the North East; The Damned United and Red Riding made in Yorkshire; and Shameless and Waterloo Road, filmed in the North West. The database, www.nothern-exposure.info goes live today.