Further boost predicted for Scotland on screen as film and TV are valued at £627m

Research covered the year after pandemic shutdown

Scotland's screen industry leaders have predicted the value of the industry is set to soar in future years after research found film and TV productions generated more than £627 million for the economy the year after the pandemic shut down productions.

New studio facilities are said to have helped more than double the value of inward investment from production companies in 2021 compared to 2019, while the overall value of productions increased by 55 per cent. Government agency Screen Scotland, which has published the research, said it wanted to build on the “phenomenal” increase in production recorded between 2019 and 2021.

Good Omens, Anansi Boys and The Rig all filmed for months in the new studios in Leith and Bathgate.

Martin Compston is making a new series of The Rig in Leith.

Other productions which used Scotland in 2021 include the new Indiana Jones film, Peaky Blinders and Star Wars series, the dramas Crime, Guilt, Annika Karen Pirie and The Control Room, and the feature film The Lost King.

An estimated £617.4m in Scotland was spent on productions across the year, compared to £398.6m in 2019, with momentum said to have been maintained into this year and “very positive” forecasts for the next year.

The industry’s value is expected to have increased significantly over the past two years due to the recovery of cinemagoing, the revival of film tourism visits and the return of film festivals.

David Smith, director of screen at Screen Scotland, said: “We saw an increase in all forms of production between 2019 and 2021, but within that it was very significant that there was a 110 per cent increase in the value of inward investment from films and high-end TV productions.

Martin Compston and Emily Hampshire, with co-star Iain Glen, at The Rig world premiere in Edinburgh. Picture: Jane Barlow/Press Association

"That inward investment has unlocked a significant growth in production, but what we will see in the research for 2023 is that screen tourism and cinema exhibition will have recovered. We've already seen a significant recovery in terms of cinemas and film festivals, which are at roughly 80 per cent of where they were in 2019. Most cinemas were closed for much of 2021.

"Screen tourism was almost impossible for much of that year and the number of visitors has at least returned to 2019 levels in some locations. Those figures will feed through along with the continued growth in production which we are currently enjoying.”

Isabel Davis, Screen Scotland's executive director, added: “

The growth in all forms of production in Scotland between 2019 and 2021 is a phenomenal result.  It shows us that public investment via Screen Scotland in infrastructure, development, production and skills development, combined with attractive levels of production incentive are the catalyst for a successful industry. 

“Now is the time to build on these newly created jobs and growth with a sustained funding commitment towards skills development, attraction of large-scale productions and a focus on the development of locally originated film and television.  Screen Scotland is committed to delivering further growth, working hand in hand with the commercial production and studio sectors.  This will rely upon sustained funding and support in order for Scotland to seize the opportunities ahead of it and see that growth trajectory continue.”