Pact offers services for free

UK producers’ trade body Pact is helping local indies get through the crisis in production by offering them free membership for six months.

John McVay

Pact’s council of members have voted unanimously to offer free and full access to its services and resources to all eligible UK indies for a period of six months.

Existing producer members’ payments will be frozen between April and September 2020, while members who have paid in advance will receive a credit note for the period and will be offered the choice of either an immediate cash rebate or a discount against future renewal.

This offer will immediately put nearly £1m (US$1.2m) of cash directly back into the industry at a much-needed time, providing direct financial support to nearly 400 members, Pact said.

The free membership window for lapsed or new members will run from May to October 2020 and is open to any indies that meet the criteria to qualify as either a full producer, affiliate or film member.

At this time, the offer does not apply to facilitator members, which are companies that provide professional services within the industry, such as law firms.

Pact CEO John McVay said: “We hope that this critical support will help our existing members to weather this particularly challenging storm, where their income streams have been severely hit and there’s no certainty around when things might let up. We also encourage indies that are not currently members to take up the offer to benefit from the extra resources and support that Pact membership offers during this time.”

Pact chair Sara Geater added: “This pandemic is the greatest single threat our industry has ever faced and we will only get through it if we work together. It’s in everyone’s interest for indies to survive and be in as strong a position as possible to resume their normal activities as soon as it is feasible.”