Microwave

Microwave launched in 2006 to commission debut feature film-makers in the capital. It is a project for London-based companies to produce ten micro-budget feature films over a three year period.

Microwave challenges film-makers to shoot a full length feature film for up to £100,000 with cash and in-kind support. The scheme provides an intensive approach to film-making, with an emphasis on tightly focused scripts, short production schedules and commercial potential.

It is open to film-makers working in documentary, fiction, animation, and to artists working with the moving image.

Backed by the BBC, LDA, UKFC and Skillset, the film-makers are provided with up to £75,000 of direct funding per project as well as unique professional mentoring and bespoke training from leading industry figures.

Film London and its partners will also offer a range of assistance including in-kind support from leading facilities and service companies, including Ascent Media and AFM Lighting; competitive locations fees from many of London's local authorities; and a 'revenue share' model which will return a generous percentage of any revenue back to the film-makers.

Completed projects will have a theatrical window before being broadcast on the BBC. All film-making teams are given professional and tailored marketing and sales advice, giving them a head start in the international marketplace.

The first two greenlit features were Mum & Dad and Shifty:

• Mum & Dad premieres at the Edinburgh International Film Festival 2008. Writer/director Steven Sheil's intense horror film, produced by Lisa Trnovski, is set around London's Heathrow Airport. A murderous and perverse family live at the end of the runway, right under the roar of the flight path.
• Shifty written/directed by Eran Creevy and produced by Rory Aitken and Ben Pugh is the scheme's second greenlit feature. Riz Ahmed (Britz, Road to Guantanamo) takes the title role of Shifty, a thriller charting an action packed 24 hours in the life of a young crack cocaine dealer on the outskirts of London.

Three more features have been greenlit by Microwave and are currently in various stages of production:

• Analogue, a dark psychological thriller, written and directed by Suki Singh and produced by Daniel Jewel.
• The British Guide to Showing Off (working title), a documentary about the Alternative Miss World Show and its extraordinary creator Andrew Logan, directed by Jes Benstock and produced by Dorigen Hammond.
• Freestyle, an uplifting teen romance set in the world of freestyle basketball, written by Michael Maynard, directed by Kolton Lee and produced by Lincia Daniel.
  

You can find out more about Microwave and all things micro-budget on the Microwave website, an online resource for micro-budget film-makers everywhere.

If you have any specific enquiries about the Microwave scheme, then please contact the Microwave team on 020 7613 7693 or microwave@filmlondon.org.uk. We recommend signing up to the Film London weekly bulletin for further updates.


Please note: Film London will update its website from time to time and write to all applicants to update them on key changes. Film London must reserve the right to adjust the terms and conditions on which applications are received and processed until the final deadline for applications in order to optimise the arrangements for the production of the films. A necessary condition for all applicants is that they agree to Film London reserving this right. Applicants should review the website before they apply, at regular intervals in between applying and the final deadline, and immediately before the closure of the deadline in order to ensure they are fully aware of any revisions which may affect their application. 


A further five Microwave films will be commissioned in 2008/09 - the deadline for applications has now passed. 

Microwave in association with:

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