But Jersey’s on-screen history is an interesting one, encompassing both successful productions as well as some very memorable failures…
Some memorable failures…
In 2012, director Keith Cavele came up with a plan for a “Hollywood blockbuster” fantasy filmed on Jersey’s shores, which he said would “do the island proud”.
The Government handed over a £200,000 grant of taxpayer cash to help with pre-production costs for ‘Knights of Impossingworth’, and hundreds of young islanders went to auditions at the Town Hall in the hope that they would be chosen to star in the film.
Pictured: Could Jersey have a film and TV industry overseen by a screen commission?
But then the States was told that a multi-million investment by UK supermarket company Tesco had been withdrawn and the promises made by Mr Cavele – along with an ‘A-list’ star – failed to materialise.
It also emerged that the company had changed its name, thereby annulling the requirement to comply with the terms of the EDD grant – to make a film in Jersey, employing local people and companies.
Official reports later blasted the situation as having been extremely poorly handled, and it emerged that background reports by a States department and Scrutiny panel had failed to uncover that the man behind the scheme had convictions for theft – and had been disqualified from being a company director.
…and some successes
But in 2019, Jersey-born film director Michael Pearce’s Beast – a thriller inspired by the story of the Beast of Jersey, which was partly shot in the island – won a BAFTA in the category of Outstanding Debut.
ArtHouse boss Tom Dingle said at the time that investing in script development and supporting promising writers, then selecting ideas that “meet a strict ‘compelling reasons to be made in Jersey’ criteria – namely, the production being set in Jersey, dealing with a Jersey story or involving a significant number of Jersey creatives and investors”, may be a way forward.
Pictured: Jersey-born film director Michael Pearce’s thriller Beast won a BAFTA in the category of Outstanding Debut.
However, he stopped short of suggesting a movie fund – similar to that of the British Film Institute which uses UK lottery proceeds to finance film development and production, and to increase audiences – should be set up.
“On the one hand, we have exceptional and varied scenery, rich heritage sites and a compact location, which mean Jersey would lend itself brilliantly to film,” he said.
“On the other, we do not have the core infrastructure nor any formal film-financing structure or the investment incentives offered by other jurisdictions.”
But now, the reimagined Bergerac series due to hit islanders’ screens next year has produced a more positive conversation in recent months as filming took place in the island during the summer.
A chance “to diversify the economy”
The Economic Development Minister has revealed that a local film expert was commissioned to develop a proposal for a screen commission for the island, with a report expected to be released next month.
Deputy Morel said: “Bergerac definitely has a tourism element but another aim is to develop a film and TV sector in Jersey.”
The local expert behind the research is award-winning director Rebecca Coley, who has two decades of experience in the industry.
She said: “I have been looking at different jurisdictions and ways of approaching this and even if we only took a purely economical approach – it would be a great way to diversify the economy and create more jobs and opportunities.”
Pictured: Bergerac filming took place during the summer across a number of locations including the Royal Square.
Ms Coley continued: “The benefits for Jersey are economical investment into the economy and secondary benefit of the industry on the island (such as crew spending etcetera), diversifying the economy which is crucial and part of the government’s five-year plan, tourism and boosting ‘set jetting’,” pointing out that there were also ‘cultural’ benefits.
“This robust creative industry gives Jersey a high positive profile and creativity and talent retainment – keeping our talented people on the island and offering a dynamic and creative cottage industry that is worth staying for and (or) coming back to.”
“Why couldn’t Jersey tap into this?”
Ms Coley noted that a report by the British Film Institute had documented a return on investment from the UK government’s screen tax reliefs between 2017 and 2019 as being £13.48 billion, alongside the creation of hundreds of thousands of jobs.
Pictured: Jersey actor Timothy Renouf, who is playing a lead role in the Bergerac reboot, on set during a scene in the Royal Square.
Ms Coley added: “Why couldn’t Jersey tap into this and be part of it on a much smaller scale?”
She also cited Ireland as a “good case study”, where there is a 32% tax credit for film, television and animation projects.