Indielab welcomes class of 2017

Indielab, the accelerator programme for UK-based independent producers, has revealed the 15 prodcos with which it will be working in 2017.

Victoria Powell

The business growth programme, launched in 2015 by producer Victoria Powell with backing from the mayor of London, has expanded its remit across the whole of the UK for its second year.

There are 15 prodcos in the 2017 cohort, including Alleycats, Awesome Media & Entertainment, Back2back, Big Deal Films and Erica Starling Productions.

Lambent, Fearless Television, Golden Path Productions, Little Gem, Matchlight and Rogan Productions have also been selected, along with Saffron Cherry TV, ShinAwil, Title Role Productions and TriForce Productions.

The firms will all receive specialist training from more than 50 industry leaders, including Channel 4 drama commissioner Lee Mason and Raw TV founder Dimitri Doganis.

The indies will be able to participate in a series of workshops, lectures, panel discussions, networking events and one-to-one sessions, gaining insight on business planning, distribution, maximising revenue streams, corporate finance and investor readiness.

Throughout the programme, the final group will also receive expert advice from Indielab’s corporate sponsors Banijay Rights, Barclays, Sony Pictures Television, ZDF Enterprises, TVA and Harbottle & Lewis.

The programme will culminate with an investor pitch event where the indies will have the opportunity to meet and pitch to individual investors, VC funds and other financial investors.

Powell said: “We’re working to address the investment shortage for UK indies. There is a real need for more investment in the lower part of the sector and more needs to be done to help indies cross the bridge between one-off commissions and returnable, sustainable work.

“That’s why we’re really excited to be working with such a diverse range of fast-growth indies, including BAME and out-of-London production companies, to help them reach the next level of growth.”