Made in the Nations and Regions (2025)
Client:
Year:
Deliverables:
Production:
Contributors:
Pact
2025 / 2026
Six short films, each four to five minutes long
Ten filming days across eleven UK locations
More than 30 producers, industry figures, and representatives from regional screen agencies
Overview
Pact represents independent television and film production companies across the UK. For its Made in the Nations & Regions campaign, Pact commissioned Eye Film to create six short films exploring the distinctive production communities of Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, the North of England, the West Midlands and South West, and the South and East of England.
Combining first-hand testimony with examples of work produced across the UK, the films demonstrate how direct public funding supports creative businesses, develops regional talent, creates jobs, and generates wider economic value.
The Challenge
Film and television production outside London is often discussed as if the UK’s nations and regions form a single, homogeneous production community. In reality, each area has its own creative strengths, infrastructure, opportunities, and funding challenges. Pact needed a series of films that could reflect those differences while supporting a coherent UK-wide argument for investment.
The films had to celebrate the quality and diversity of regional production without becoming conventional promotional pieces. They also needed to communicate a serious industry argument to commissioners, broadcasters, streamers, policymakers, and public bodies: sustained investment in regional independent producers creates jobs, develops talent, strengthens local economies, and allows a wider range of stories and voices to reach audiences.
“Localised creative hubs outside London are a driving force for economic growth, and they are vital to ensuring the sector’s long-term sustainability. We wanted the films to show both what targeted support has already made possible, and what could still be unlocked.”
The challenge was to combine personal testimony, industry evidence, and hundreds of examples of existing work in films that remained accessible, engaging, and forward-looking.
Our Approach
Rather than compressing the entire UK production sector into a single film, we created six distinct films as part of one connected campaign.
Working closely with Pact’s Head of Nations and Regions, Chris Curley, we developed an individual treatment for each film and identified the contributors who could tell that region’s story most effectively. We deliberately brought together experienced, established producers, those building newer companies and careers, and, wherever possible, representatives from regional screen agencies. This gave each film a mixture of personal experience, industry knowledge, and a wider understanding of the support structures surrounding local production.
“We worked closely with Chris Curley to shape each treatment and find the right voices. It was important to include established producers alongside those newer to the industry, and, wherever possible, the relevant screen agency. We completed the Northern Ireland film first, and it set a strong benchmark for the rest of the series.”
Beginning with Northern Ireland helped establish the editorial model for the series. Its established funding and support structures provided clear examples of how sustained investment could strengthen production companies, develop talent, and create wider economic benefits.
The other films followed the same broad framework, but not the same argument. Some regions could demonstrate what direct public funding had already helped to achieve. Others revealed the opportunities being lost through limited or inconsistent support.
The devolved nations frequently offered the clearest evidence of what established support structures could deliver. The English regions presented a more varied picture, allowing the films to explore both existing successes and areas of unrealised potential. Together, the six films shared a consistent identity while giving every nation and region the space to make its own case.
Visual Style
The campaign depended on contributors communicating complex industry issues with clarity and conviction. We filmed the interviews using EyeDirect, allowing contributors to maintain a natural conversation with the interviewer while looking directly into the camera. This gave their testimony the immediacy and authority of a direct address without sacrificing the natural quality of an interview.
Rather than relying on a narrator, the arguments were led by the people working within each production community. Their experiences showed what investment makes possible, where barriers remain, and what further support could unlock. The interviews were then shaped into concise narratives that moved from individual experiences towards a broader economic and cultural case for investment.
We made a deliberate decision not to film conventional B-roll sequences with the contributors or create individual profiles of their companies.
Instead, the films rely on the strength of the interviews, supported by graphics, onscreen text, economic evidence, and examples of programmes made by producers from each nation and region.
“The films rely on the stories they tell, supported by graphics, text that emphasises the key points, and clips provided by producers from each nation and region. That kept the focus on the wider argument rather than turning the films into profiles of individual companies.”
This created a clear and focused visual language across the series. Contributors spoke directly to the audience, key messages were reinforced graphically, and programme footage demonstrated the quality and range of work being produced. The result was a campaign that felt evidence-led without becoming statistically dry, and personal without losing sight of the wider industry argument.
A UK-Wide Production
Production took place over ten filming days in 11 locations across the UK:
- Winchester
- Brighton
- Belfast
- Cardiff
- Bristol
- Birmingham
- Sunderland
- Glasgow
- Liverpool
- Leeds
- London
More than 30 contributors were filmed across the production, requiring careful coordination of interviews, locations, travel, and regional representation. Despite the geographical scale of the project, the films needed to feel like parts of the same campaign. A consistent approach to interview framing, graphics, typography, music, and editing united the series, while the contributors and programme footage gave every film its own character.
Show, Don't Tell
A central part of the creative approach was allowing audiences to see the quality and variety of work being produced across the nations and regions. The films incorporated 330 clips from television programmes and productions created by independent companies around the UK, ranging from regional factual and entertainment programming to internationally recognised productions.
Securing this material required an extensive rights-clearance process. Working closely with Pact’s legal team, we liaised with production companies, broadcasters, studios, and international rights holders to obtain permission for every clip. This allowed the films to support their argument with tangible evidence. Rather than simply being told that regional producers create ambitious, culturally significant, and commercially successful work, audiences could see that work for themselves.
The Outcome
The six films launched in February 2026 as a central part of Pact’s Made in the Nations & Regions campaign, alongside independent economic research from Alma Economics into the impact of direct public funding. The research found that every £1 of direct public funding for independent producers supports approximately £4.60 in gross value added. The films brought the human and creative story behind those figures to life, showing how investment affects individual businesses, careers, production communities, and regional economies.
“From the outset, the team at Eye Film understood exactly what we wanted to achieve and brought real creativity, rigour, sensitivity, and professionalism to the project. The films capture the stories of our members in an authentic and engaging way, highlighting the incredible creative talent across the nations and regions.”
Pact created a campaign toolkit enabling its members to share the films through social media, professional networks, and conversations with local politicians. The films have also supported Pact briefings, industry discussions, and regional events, helping the organisation communicate its message to policymakers, broadcasters, industry partners, and prospective members.
The campaign’s call for greater regional investment was given further momentum by the subsequent announcement of a new £10.5 million production fund for Greater Manchester. While it would be difficult to attribute the fund directly to the films, its launch demonstrated that the wider argument for targeted regional support was gaining traction.
“The feedback we’ve received has been overwhelmingly positive, and the films will continue to be an important resource for Pact as we lobby for change, support, and economic growth in the screen sector across every part of the UK.”
A selection of the films was screened at an RTS East and Pact event in Norwich, attended by nearly 100 screen-industry professionals. The project was subsequently recognised at the RTS East Programme Awards 2026, where Jack Bernardin, Cameron Black, and Charlie Gauvain received the Craft – Editor award for their work on the series.
Credits
Director:
Producer:
Director of Photography:
Editor:
Project Manager:
Cameron Black
Charlie Gauvain
Max Knaapen, Cameron Black, Jack Bernadin
Cameron Black, Jack Bernadin, Charlie Gauvain
Chloé Mackay, Eve Hill
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