A Scottish screen fund for talent, places and stories

Scotland has the locations, creative workers and cultural identity to become a stronger force in film and television. From historic towns and island landscapes to modern cities, the country can offer producers distinctive settings without leaving the United Kingdom.

The SNP’s vision for a Scottish Film and Television Production Fund is built around turning that potential into sustained economic activity. A dedicated fund could help finance ambitious productions, support independent companies and give emerging writers, directors and crews a clearer route into the industry.

For audiences in Australia, the proposal has familiar reference points. Screen Australia, state agencies and public broadcasters have long connected cultural investment with jobs, regional development and national storytelling. Scotland can pursue a comparable model while shaping it around Scottish language, history and creative priorities.

The wider case is political as well as economic. A stronger screen sector would help Scotland represent itself internationally, retain skilled workers and demonstrate the value of decisions made closer to the communities they affect.

Building a fund that works across Scotland

A national production fund should support more than large projects based in Glasgow or Edinburgh. It could provide development finance for smaller companies, production support for regional locations and grants for documentaries, animation, factual programming and new writers.

This approach matters to communities beyond the central belt. Productions in Perthshire, Fife, Stirling or the Highlands can bring spending to accommodation providers, transport firms, caterers and local trades. A clear regional assessment could ensure that public money creates activity across Scotland rather than concentrating it in a few established studios.

Backing independent producers and new voices

Large international productions attract attention, yet independent producers often carry the cultural risk. They develop original stories, work with new talent and create the projects that may later reach audiences through broadcasters, streaming services and cinemas.

A Scottish fund could offer early development grants, gap finance and low-cost loans, with transparent criteria for public benefit. Particular attention could go to Gaelic-language work, working-class voices, disabled filmmakers and stories from communities that are underrepresented on screen.

Australia offers a useful comparison through the role of the ABC, SBS and Screen Australia in supporting local perspectives. A Scottish equivalent would need its own structure, but the principle is recognisable: public investment can widen the range of stories available to audiences.

Turning cultural investment into skilled employment

Film and television production depends on a deep workforce, from electricians and costume makers to editors, location managers and sound engineers. A fund should therefore connect finance with apprenticeships, paid placements and training delivered in partnership with colleges and industry bodies.

This would help address the stop-start employment patterns that can push skilled people out of the sector. It could also give young Scots a reason to build careers at home rather than moving permanently to London or overseas. Australian productions have shown how screen work can support specialist businesses in Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and regional centres when training and infrastructure grow together.

Priority	Potential benefit	Practical measure
Regional production	Spending and jobs outside major cities	Location incentives and local crew requirements
Emerging talent	A stronger pipeline of writers and filmmakers	Development grants, mentoring and paid placements
Scottish stories	Greater cultural visibility	Support for Gaelic, documentary and community-led projects
Sustainable production	Lower environmental impact	Green production standards and reporting
International reach	New investment and audiences	Co-production support and festival promotion

Creating value for local economies

The financial return from a production is wider than the production budget itself. Visitors may stay in local hotels, hire vehicles, use catering services and return to locations as tourists after seeing them on screen. A well-designed fund could measure these benefits rather than treating culture as a cost with no wider impact.

That logic will resonate in Australia, where filming around Hobart, Brisbane or the Gold Coast can connect screen work with tourism and hospitality. Scotland’s castles, coastlines and rural landscapes have similar potential, provided communities receive clear benefits and productions manage disruption responsibly.

Supporting sustainable and responsible production

Public funding should come with expectations on environmental performance. Productions can reduce travel, manage waste, use local suppliers and plan energy consumption more carefully. These standards would protect Scotland’s landscapes while helping companies compete in a market where broadcasters and investors increasingly assess environmental impact.

Responsibility should include relationships with residents and landowners. Early consultation, fair location fees and realistic filming schedules can build trust. A Scottish fund could publish straightforward guidance so smaller producers are not excluded by complex compliance requirements.

Giving Scotland a stronger voice abroad

A successful production fund would be a cultural export strategy as much as a domestic programme. Scottish stories can travel through festivals, streaming platforms and co-productions with Ireland, the Nordic countries, Canada and Australia. International partnerships can bring finance into Scotland while opening routes for Scottish crews and writers.

Representation matters at Westminster too. Annabelle Ewing’s experience in law, Parliament and local campaigning provides a basis for arguing that Scotland should have the tools to shape its own creative economy. Her wider priorities and campaign activity are available through Annabelle Ewing’s campaign.

Linking screen policy with independence

For the SNP, investment in film and television sits within a broader argument for Scottish self-government. Control over economic development, culture and broadcasting would allow decisions to be tailored to Scottish needs rather than fitted into priorities set elsewhere.

An independent Scotland could establish a long-term creative industries strategy, align education with production demand and give cultural institutions stable funding. A dedicated screen fund would be one practical expression of that ambition: investing in talent now while building a confident national industry for the future.

Support a stronger Scottish screen sector by sharing this vision, engaging with local campaign activity and backing representatives who will argue for Scotland’s creative and economic interests at Westminster.