‘This indie has been proven right in its gutsy move of setting up when it did by its growing reputation as a high watermark producer’
Dare Pictures remains one of relatively few Black-led indies in the UK and in the three years since its formation, has firmly established its presence and reputation in the domestic and international TV markets.
An acronym for diversity, allyship, representation and empowerment, Dare imbues these values into its output -one of its first projects involved working with North America’s largest documentary festival on a series of films about climate change pioneers from filmmakers around the world.
It quickly followed this up with its first commission, Fugitive: The Mystery of The Crypto Queen, a co-commission with German label Tandowski Films. This was quickly followed by another C4 order, digital film UK Prisons: Inside Survival and BBC Storyville doc Dalton’s Dream.
Another doc for C4’s Untold youth strand, The Secrets of UK Prisons, has become one of the most successful films in the strand, spending a forthnight in the ‘most popular’ on C4’s streaming platform.
Dare has proven itself an attractive prospect, with diverse indie investment vehicle Rosegown choosing it as its first investment, as well securing funding from Endeavor-backed Asylum Entertainment and being awarded a BFI International Business Development Award.
One judge said: “Dare by name, dare by nature - this indie has been proven right in its gutsy move of setting up when it did by its growing reputation as a high watermark producer.”
SHORTLISTED
Listen
Listen scored a smash with its ‘visualized podcast’ The Traitors: Uncloaked, a companion podcast that aired on BBC2 and regularly drew audiences of over 2m per episode. Listen has continued to push the limits of podcasting-as-video, with On Demand Music Show (BBC Radio 2/BBC Sounds) and So Wrong It’s Right with Olivia Attwood (YouTube). It also has projects underway with Netflix and Disney+.
Nest Productions
Offering other indies access to its production experience, as well as its legal, finance, HR, IT and production management resources, Nest is establishing itself as a next-gen indie. Its 2024 highlights included co-pros such as Dodge’s Pup School, US quiz show Lucky 13, Perfect Pub Walks with Bill Bailey and its first solo commission Dating Naked UK for Paramount+/MTV.
Salamanda Media
This female-led indie based in Manchester established itself in the midst of lockdown to offer northern talent the opportunity to make world-class entertainment. In a few short years, Salamanda has joined the Channel 4 Indie Growth Fund and has signed a lucrative first-look deal with All3Media.
Screendog Productions
The success of The Jury: Murder Trial has cemented Screendog’s reputation as a producer of loud and popular social experiments. With a second series in production, the format has already sold to Australia and has nine further options signed in other territories.
Zandland
Working to the guiding principle of ‘shining a light on the darkest corners of the world’, Zandland has built a digital and linear portfolio of hard-hitting projects, including The Great Amazon Heist, The Truth About Temu and Kingpins with Ben Zand. It also secured a place on Sky Documentaries’ prestigious diversity initiative, working towards its first commission with the network.
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