Flame ignites Welsh venture

Australia-based Flame Distribution has launched a new production venture in Wales, a move that will create more than 20 jobs and support 200 freelancers.

John Caldon

Wildflame Productions is based in the Welsh capital Cardiff and is led by former Indus Films executive Paul Islwyn Thomas.

The new venture is aiming to spend £1m (US$1.33m) in its first year of operation and is estimating that this figure could rise to around £7m by year five. It has also secured funding from the Welsh Government.

The move marks a new chapter for Sydney-based factual specialist Flame Media Group, which represents 100 international producers with 2,500 hours of content on sale to markets worldwide.

Paul Islwyn Thomas

Flame Group MD John Caldon said: “We are an internationally focused company and this is an exciting development that will help us expand and reach new markets. We have a genuine passion to discover and develop the new generation of broadcast talent in Wales.

“We want to collaborate with both established companies and individuals to explore opportunities to work on the world stage.”

Wildflame’s first commission, BBC4’s The Greatest Poem of World War One, looks at the Royal Welsh Fusiliers and the battle for Mametz Wood in 1916.