Industry veterans Neil Zeiger and Martin Proctor launch Flickers Films

Neil Zeiger, left, and Martin Proctor

Industry veterans Neil Zeiger and Martin Proctor are launching a new production company to create and produce content for both UK and international audiences with a slate of scripted and unscripted TV series and films.

Backed by private investment, Flickers Films says it aims to have one or two projects in production over the next 12 months with an emphasis on talent-driven, returning series and films with a primary focus on the UK audience but with broad global appeal.

Its scripted start-up slate includes returning drama series Charlie King, written by Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes, Wild at Heart), which is being developed with World Productions.

Also in the works is Bad Priest, a dark comedy, created and written by emerging filmmaker/writer/director Jamie Patterson (Fractured, Tucked, Justine, God’s Petting), which is being co-produced by APC Studios, and An Austrian Holiday, a low budget indie film, written and directed by award-winning documentary film maker Ann Hawker, which is being coproduced with Astria Films in the UK and WEP Films in Germany.

The unscripted development slate includes Inside Out, a series that explores the lives of prisoners in the notorious San Pedro jail in Bolivia. The producers have filmed documentaries in Gaza, Lebanon Vietnam, Russia, and various parts of South America.

Zeiger and Proctor originally ran their own independent company Flickers Productions in the 1980s, creating content including feature film Lamb starring Liam Neeson; Reasonable Force starring Adrian Dunbar, and The Bolshoi Ballet – documentary film for the BBC. They also worked together to create and establish the BBC’s first drama unit in Northern Ireland.

Zeiger went on to produce more than 200 hours of television drama before most recently producing Brian Cox’s directorial debut feature film Glenrothan, which has just world premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, and feature documentary Manolo: The Boy Who Made Shoes for Lizards. Proctor’s credits include The Day the Silence Died and Blackthorn.

Zeiger said: “Martin and I have always worked well together and we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to revive Flickers and continue to tell the kind of stories that we would want to watch. Our mission is to produce high-quality content that is value for money and delivers for the audience.”

Proctor added: “We are passionate about telling compelling stories with a fresh perspective which is why we want to keep working with new talent and co-produce with partners that bring a different and complementary viewpoint to each project. As the business grows, our ethos is to pass on our experience and nurture emerging voices.”