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NEXT BIG THINGS

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On the Home Team

Award-winning producers Dominic Buchanan and Bennett McGhee are looking to move the needle when it comes to inclusive film and TV with their new prodco.

It’s fair to say The End of the F***king World co-creator and executive producer Dominic Buchanan has been in the headlines recently. As well as co-founding UK-based prodco Home Team with Bennett McGhee, Buchanan was in the news when he called out Bafta for not allowing him to receive a physical award after the Channel 4/Netflix show he co-created won best drama at this year’s online-only ceremony.

Bennett McGhee

The open letter Buchanan penned and shared online in August detailed how he felt filmmakers and creatives of colour will never truly feel supported nor included until institutions such as Bafta change rapidly.

A month later and Buchanan, together with Silvertown Films founder McGhee, was back in the news after receiving an undisclosed investment in their London-based venture from Calculus Creative Content EIS Fund.

The fund was launched in June 2019 in association with the British Film Institute (BFI), which awarded the fund to Calculus Capital and film and TV finance specialist Stargrove Pictures. The aim is to help generate a new wave of investors in the UK creative content industry and to support the growth of dynamic and ambitious UK production companies such as Home Team.

Netflix partnered with C4 on The End of the F***ing World

Buchanan and McGhee want Home Team to focus on the development and production of high-end, wholly inclusive feature films and television series and aim to bring under-represented talent into the mainstream.

The pair look to identify and develop under-represented creatives and nurture exciting voices, primarily, but not exclusively, filmmakers of colour and women filmmakers of all ethnicities through interactive as well as traditional film and TV platforms.

Prior to Home Team, Buchanan has been independently producing and building his slate of projects, which last year saw him secure a one-year first-look TV deal with production house Eleven.

Previously, Buchanan was VP of production and development at Bold Films, where he coproduced the Keira Knightley movie Colette. Buchanan also produced director Hong Khaou’s film Lilting, starring Ben Whishaw.

In 2015, McGhee established Silvertown Films, which was the recipient of the BFI’s Vision Award in its first year. Silvertown’s credits include Ron Scarpello’s feature documentary Bobby, Ed Lilly’s rap-battle drama VS and Mogul Mowgli, directed by Bassam Tariq and starring Riz Ahmed.

Projects on Home Team’s slate include a collaboration with BBC Films on Shola Amoo’s follow-up to feature The Last Tree; a BFI-backed film directed by Destiny Ekaragha (The End of the F***ing World) and comedian and writer Danielle Ward (In the Long Run); and Nadia Latif and Omar El-Khairy’s (White Girl) horror film Welcome, currently being developed with Film4 and the BFI.

Also on the slate are Rohan Blair Mangat’s docuseries The Boombox Project, adapted from Lyle Owerko’s book of the same name, and a television series directed by Kate Herron (Sex Education), which she is co-writing alongside Briony Redman (Angry Quiz Guy) and will be coproduced with Douglas Cox (Host).

Founding partner McGhee says: “I’m blessed to be partnering with Dominic and starting this new venture together, and thankful for the incredible support from the team at Calculus, Stargrove and the wider industry. We’d sown the seeds of these plans for a while and it’s incredibly exciting to now see them come to fruition, and champion projects from talent we believe in.”

John Glencross, chief executive of Calculus, says: “Dominic and Bennett are two of the most exciting producers to emerge in the UK in recent years and have already shown their ability to develop groundbreaking productions that are both critically acclaimed and commercially successful.”

Stephen Fuss, chief executive at Stargrove Pictures, adds: “Dominic and Bennett are impressive individuals who have an original style and authentic voices. We are looking forward to working with them and supporting their growth plans.”

Summing up their goals, founding partner Buchanan says: “Home Team will be a genuine home for talent.
We are continuously driven to realise our wildest ambitions and want to move the needle with everything we do. Fortunately, Bennett and I are now truly empowered to do so.”


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