Glasgow Film Office continues key economic role for city

Published: 15 November 2016

Glasgow City Council's Regeneration and the Economy Committee today (15 November) considered a report outlining the economic contribution made to the city by the council's Glasgow Film Office (GFO).

Since its creation in 1997 with the aim of promoting Glasgow as a 'film-friendly' city, the GFO has attracted film, broadcast and advertising productions that have generated well over £250million in economic activity.

The GFO does this through its role as a one-stop shop for productions filming or wishing to film in Glasgow, allowing them to meet with appropriate agencies, location owners and council departments. 

Another key role for the GFO is ensuring that filming activity has the minimum impact on residents and businesses while delivering the greatest maximum impact, and this is achieved by working closely with council departments, Police Scotland and productions.

Support for productions is also available from the GFO, including a grant - capped at £7,500 - towards hiring local equipment or facilities, and this support has proved worthwhile, with four of the productions receiving this over the past couple of years contributing £2million or more to the city's economy.

Some of the most notable productions to be have been made in Glasgow in recent years include the films World War Z, Cloud Atlas, Red Road and the forthcoming Trainspotting 2, as well as the television productions Outlander, The Replacement, Shetland and the soon-to-broadcast Rillington Place.

Councillor George Redmond, Executive Member for Jobs, Business and Investment at Glasgow City Council, said: "The continuing success of the council's Glasgow Film Office in bringing film and broadcast productions to the city is something to be celebrated.  Not only have the team made a huge economic impact over a sustained period, Glasgow has enjoyed national and international exposure in these productions and shown itself to be open for business."

The GFO is supported by the Glasgow Film Partnership, a body with over 60 members, with the common goal of making filming on location in the city as simple as possible.  Some of the members of this partnership include Glasgow Chamber of Commerce, the University of Glasgow, Glasgow Airport and Network Rail.

The GFO also helps to promote the city's film-makers on the international festival circuit through the sponsoring of the Glasgow Short Film Festival catalogue.