Based in Hull, Northern Films Ltd is a production company focused on making high quality factual dramas and programming. Boasting the latest in CGI, green screen and film technology, the business was initially set up to create a variety of local television, film and drama programmes for a regional audience – offering a voice to marginalised groups and telling stories at a community level. Founder and owner, Andrew Fenton, alongside his team of highly qualified film professionals are proud of their local area, but are also interested in attracting companies from hubs like London, who can hire their personnel, kit and filming spaces. The studio is quite a unique proposition in the area, with filmmakers needing to travel as far as Leeds to find anything similar. John Levison, executive producer at the production company, has said the formation of the studios creates a turnkey solution for marketing and advertising agencies and filmmakers. With fully equipped studios ready to go and an exceptional team of experts with years of experience behind them, Northern Films are well-placed to offer industry giants the opportunity to expand their reach.
Telling local stories through the medium of film
Shining a light on the often-overlooked industries, jobs and people based in the north of the country, Northern Films has produced a number of features that focus on a more inclusive narrative. The Last Trip is a two-hour long feature film that brings together Hull’s fishing history, local actors and an element of CGI to deliver a poignant reminder of what was once a thriving sector. The memorial to the region’s lost fishermen was initially outlined as a short film with a comedy element to it, but soon grew into a comprehensive and thoughtful consideration of the much-admired industry and the losses it has suffered over the years. The film is interspersed with plenty of period details, with the younger fishermen played by locals and well-known figures, such as the former Archbishop of York, The Most Revd. Dr John Sentamu, and ex-MPs John Prescott and Alan Johnson all making appearances. The film is a tribute to generations of courageous trawler men who sailed from Hull to fish in the freezing waters of the Arctic.
Judges’ comments:
The judges were particularly impressed by the efforts made at Northern Films to tell the stories of local people. Tuning into an innately British sensibility in cinema, to offer a more gritty perspective without the glitz and glamour of American productions, the production company succeeds in grounding their films and making them more relevant and pertinent to a British audience. Although their budgets are almost always significantly smaller, Northern Films is still able to affect audiences with just as much emotional impact through their focus on storytelling, character development and realistic portrayals. Taking advantage of the tradition of social realism in the North of the country, the production experts understand the beauty of focusing on workingclass issues, everyday life and the depiction of unvarnished realities. The Hull-based team have tapped into the vibrant artistic communities that exist up North, using local talent to prioritise realism throughout their productions and creating more relatable content as a result.