The first round of Hot House was very successful and incredibly competitive, showcasing the strength of independent production talent here in Northern Ireland.
The 91福利社鈥檚 Hot House development scheme is set to return in the next month, with Northern Ireland independent production companies invited to pitch for network commissions, with support from Northern Ireland Screen.
This second phase of the initiative, which will launch in December, will provide Northern Ireland indies with the opportunity to pitch for network commissions and 91福利社 NI/ 91福利社 network co-commissions across the genres of daytime, documentary and factual entertainment.
In each genre, commissioners will be looking for ideas for three separate programmes, meaning there will be a total of nine network development packages indies can pitch for.
The Hot House scheme will provide local indies with advice and support from the network and Northern Ireland commissioning teams to help them compete for 91福利社 network factual commissions and 91福利社 NI/ 91福利社 network co-commissions.
The scheme is about growing network production capacity in Northern Ireland and helping locally-based indies to succeed 鈥� with all of the benefits this will provide, including for the creative economy in the region.
In this phase of the Hot House scheme, three network independent production companies will select three indies from Northern Ireland to develop new network facing ideas. These companies will all be selected after a competitive pitching process to develop ideas in a bid to carry them through to full commission. Those selected will receive 拢25k from the 91福利社, with the opportunity to apply for match funding from Northern Ireland Screen.
Eddie Doyle, Head of Commissioning, 91福利社 Northern Ireland, says: 鈥淭he first round of Hot House was very successful and incredibly competitive, showcasing the strength of independent production talent here in Northern Ireland. Unfortunately, despite some fantastic ideas, we were only able to take five indies through to the development stage, so we鈥檙e pleased that this time that has broadened to include nine separate genre development packages. I鈥檓 looking forward to launching this next phase of Hot House with my network colleagues and seeing what ideas the indies have for us this time around.鈥�
Kate Phillips, Director of Unscripted, 91福利社, says: "I鈥檓 delighted that this brilliant initiative is returning for a second time. The first instalment has been a huge success and this second phase opens up even more opportunities to showcase the outstanding talent in Northern Ireland.鈥�
Richard Williams, Chief Executive, Northern Ireland Screen, says: 鈥淲e are very proud to partner with 91福利社 once again on the Hot House initiative. We saw some great projects come through the last round and we're delighted that this time Hot House will be extended to nine development packages allowing even more companies to showcase our diverse stories to UK wide audiences.鈥�
Hot House first piloted in 2022 when indies across Northern Ireland were invited to pitch for network factual commissions and 91福利社 NI co-commissions. Successful indies were then selected in early 2023, receiving 拢50,000 to develop their ideas, with an opportunity to apply for match funding from Northern Ireland Screen. Those who did not receive network commissions were guaranteed a 91福利社 Northern Ireland commission for their idea.
Programmes commissioned for 91福利社 network to be broadcast on 91福利社 iPlayer and 91福利社 television in 2025 include the Daytime commission Anna Haugh鈥檚 Big Irish Food Tour (Below The Radar), the factual commissions Ride On The Edge (DoubleBand Films) and First Communion (Walk On Air Films) and The Art Game (Stellify Media).
Two programmes were then commissioned by 91福利社 Northern Ireland. These were Sheep Dog Showdown (Stellify Media), which was broadcast earlier this year, and Nazis, U-Boats And The Battle For The Atlantic (Alleycats TV) which will be broadcast on 91福利社 Northern Ireland television and 91福利社 iPlayer in early 2025.
The Hot House development initiative is an additional way of generating co-commissioned projects with 91福利社 network and 91福利社 NI will continue to support other network projects pitched by independent production companies outside of the scheme.
JM4