Issue 83 / November 2017

CELLULOI
Liverpool is fabled for its musical output, past and present. But what about film? Sam Turner investigates the
organisations bolstering the city’s presence on the cinematic map.
The recent Museum Of Liverpool exhibition Reel Stories
explored the city’s film heritage. It declared Liverpool
to be “a filmmaker’s dream… a city of storytellers and
performers, writers and entertainers, musicians and
poets”. It’s true that while music may be the artistic medium we
are most famous for, film is also an important part of Merseyside’s
cultural history. The romantic streak of the Liverpudlian, the
grand backdrop of the Mersey and its skyline, as well as the city’s
tumultuous social history, all contribute to a rich vein of storytelling
which many a filmmaker have tapped into.
Filmmakers and writers like Terence Davies, Frank Clarke and
Willy Russell have all made films which have positioned Liverpool
as a filmic city, but how is this tradition being upheld? Clarke’s
1985 film Letter to Brezhnev is cited as the high watermark
for Liverpool filmmaking, a romantic comedy which explores
popular themes such as class, unemployment, sex and the sea.
Lynne Saunders, manager of LIVERPOOL FILM OFFICE sees the
production as kickstarting a very important cultural export for
the city. “[Letter To Brezhnev] was universally highly-acclaimed.
It was a low budget feature film, many people on that had never
worked on a feature film before,” Lynne told me at the Office’s
Cunard Building base. “It was hugely successful but I think what
it did was put Liverpool on the map as a location. The city looked
great in that movie but also the talent in front of the camera and
behind, so it really made the industry sit up and take notice of what
was going on in Liverpool.” The city’s innovation came at a time
when it’s public image had been waning: “In the late 80s there
was a huge recession and Liverpool itself was struggling. The city
was looking at creative ways to create revenue without spending
much and meanwhile the phones were going and there’s all these
filmmakers going ‘Can we film in your empty factories and your
empty warehouses and empty tower blocks?’”.
Today, Liverpool Film Office provides this service, facilitating
the search for locations, organising road closures and ensuring
the city’s myriad visual assets are readily available to the
big productions which are using Liverpool more and more.
Blockbusters such as Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them
and Captain America have made Liverpool famous in the industry
as a desirable location either as a workable double for New York
or London, or a period setting for high end TV dramas like Peaky
Blinders. The work of the Film Office has helped make the city
the most-filmed UK location outside of London and generates an
annual of income of £20 million.
This is undeniably a boon for Liverpool and its cultural capital
but is it beneficial to the next generation of homegrown filmmakers
and those wanting to earn a living in the
industry? Saunders acknowledges that
there are gaps in support now that the
Film Council is defunct, but the incoming
productions certainly serve a purpose to
those with film aspirations. “The idea is if
you can attract more large-scale feature
films and have a constant conveyor belt
of production coming in, that’s where the
opportunities are and I’ve seen many,
many more who have gone in at various
departments and have progressed to
become producers and directors and
writers,” Lynne tells me of the important role
outside productions play.
The development at the former
Littlewoods building on Edge Lane is also a positive sign for the
city’s industry and independent filmmakers. While the chief aim
will be to attract more outside productions and keep them in the
city for longer, it will provide a hub for homegrown independent
creative businesses who can support such projects. Postproduction
companies, prop makers, casting agencies and the
myriad other enterprises that are required to assist feature films
and television series will all be given space to set up shop at the
‘Pinewood Of The North’.
Homegrown talent development is the main aim of production
company FOOT IN THE DOOR who are reimagining the movie
“You’ve got
so many new
technologies
that we can
all learn from
each other”
development model with various projects which feed into their
vision. Founded by Paul Morrissey and Michelle Billington, the
North Liverpool-based CIC look to provide opportunities to young
people and adults who find barriers to education, volunteering
and employment, while creating feature films made by cast and
crew from Liverpool. Billington herself experienced barriers to
getting into the industry but has managed to work on a number of
critically acclaimed and award-winning films such as Be All And
End All and Don’t Worry About Me, which stars David Morrissey,
the brother of her fellow director at Foot
In The Door, Paul. Now through initiatives
such as the Veterans Project which looks
to provide opportunities to former military
personnel who are struggling to get back
into employment, the company is looking
to create opportunities for people to get
into an industry which is notoriously hard
to break into. The hope is that a feature film
will be in production next year as a result of
the Veterans project.
Another company which has been
flying the flag for Liverpool film for years
is HURRICANE FILMS, a celebrated
production company responsible for
the likes of Under The Mud, Of Time
And The City and Sunset Song. Funding is obviously a large
barrier for independent productions and Hurricane Producer Sol
Papadopoulos and business partner Roy Boulter have had to
travel to ensure their films were made with the requisite bank
roll. “A fund specific to Merseyside would be a boon. We’ve made
our last three films all outside the UK for financing reasons; tax
breaks in Belgium, funders in Luxembourg wanting to invest, etc.
We’re hoping to make the next one here!” Papadopoulos told me.
“Filmmaking is an international business so our work is done at the
markets in Berlin, Toronto, London, Los Angeles, etc.. Most people
assume, of course, we’re in London.”
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