The BFI has announced the latest production slate of awarded projects through the government-funded Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF).<\/p>\n
The slate includes a mix of a dozen new series and specials for Channel 4, E4, Channel 5\u2019s Milkshake!, CITV and S4C. The titles include the puppet series Don\u2019t Hug Me I\u2019m Scared<\/em> (Blink Industries, Channel 4), MakeAway Takeaway<\/em> (Dot to Dot, CITV) and Winnie & Wilbur<\/em> (Winduna, Milkshake!). It also features two quick-turnaround projects for E4.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t Hug Me I’m Scared<\/em>\u00a0builds on the cult YouTube show. Helmed by original creators Becky Sloan, Joseph Pelling and Baker Terry, the series will follow Red Guy, Yellow Guy and Duck as they continue their disastrous learning journey.<\/p>\n Fiona McDermott, head of comedy for Channel 4, said: \u201cDon\u2019t Hug Me I\u2019m Scared<\/em> is a uniquely pitched show from one of the most creative production companies around. Ideas that come with such a strong identity and established following are incredibly rare but they are really important factors when it comes to making content for younger audiences. We were desperate to endorse this glorious genre-blending-puppet-tour-de-force and with the YACF we found the perfect partners to make that a reality. We\u2019re thrilled to be making this series with them both.\u201d<\/p>\n Afro Mic Productions\u2019 Letters in Lockdown<\/em>, which tells stories of young people from across the U.K. amid the COVID-19 lockdown who were inspired to write to their loved ones; and Mother’s Best Child\u2019s Grime Therapy<\/em> (w\/t), a brand-new animated series featuring the U.K.\u2019s leading Grime stars talking openly about mental health, are set for E4.<\/p>\n Navi Lamba, digital commissioning exec for E4, said: \u201cIt\u2019s been so brilliant harnessing all the creativity inspired in our indie partners over the last few months. We\u2019ve commissioned a mixture of animation and live action, hearing the stories of real people across the country and those of well-known faces in music and TV.\u201d<\/p>\n CITV picked up Don\u2019t Unleash the Beast<\/em>, a game show set in a mythological underground produced by Tiny House Productions and CPL Productions; Dot to Dot Production\u2019s arts and crafts series MakeAway Takeaway<\/em>; and Aardman\u2019s animated sitcom Lloyd of the Flies<\/em>.<\/p>\n CITV Paul Mortimer said: \u201cThe YACF has been immensely supportive of U.K. producers in the indie sector. The partnerships that this new funding model has enabled have brought U.K. creativity amongst content makers for young audiences to the fore, greatly benefiting CITV and others. The latest CITV commissions announced today enrich our output with new British series in multi genres across live-action and animation.”<\/p>\n Landing on Channel 5\u2019s Milkshake! are Winduna Enterprises\u2019 animated comedy series Winnie & Wilbur<\/em>, based on the Winnie the Witch<\/em> books; Fourth Wall Animation\u2019s Milo<\/em>, about a cat that lives with his family in a dry cleaner’s called Scrubby’s; Saffron Cherry Productions\u2019 The World According to Grandpa<\/em>; and Wyndley Animation\u2019s Circle Square<\/em>, a comedy animation about a circle of houses and a circle of friends.<\/p>\n Louise Bucknole, VP of kids\u2019 programming at ViacomCBS Networks UK, said: \u201cThe Fund is an incredibly important initiative that opens doors on a number of new avenues, enabling us to push boundaries and expand our roster of high-quality British U.K.-originated content. For the first time in a number of years, we\u2019re able to bring live-action drama and entertainment formats back to Milkshake!, putting more real kids on screen, which in turn supports our ambition to increase the representation of kids up and down the U.K. In addition, we\u2019ve also commissioned a number of new standout animations and are working with new companies as a result of the fund. We\u2019re looking forward to broadening our net further to work with more new partners from across the U.K..\u201d<\/p>\n The Cwmni Da Cyf Welsh-language historical factual series Hei Hanes!<\/em> (Hey History!<\/em>), and Sali Mali 2\u2019s 2D early-learning Welsh-language series Sali Mali<\/em> were acquired by S4C.<\/p>\n Sioned Wyn Roberts, commissioner for children’s and learning at S4C, said: \u201cI am delighted that another two Welsh-language projects have been supported by the YACF. The fund enables us at S4C to constantly improve the quality and breadth of our offering to children and young people of all ages. The BAME mentoring scheme on Hei Hanes!<\/em> is a new and exciting development that would not have been possible without the fund.\u201d<\/p>\n The BFI has awarded a total of \u00a311,520,428 production funding to 18 projects in year one (April 2019-April 2020). The YACF contributes up to 50 percent of the production costs for projects that have secured a broadcast commitment from a free-to-access, Ofcom-regulated service with significant U.K.-wide audience reach. In the first 12 months since its launch, the U.K. production community has submitted 42 applications to the fund.<\/p>\n Jackie Edwards, head of the YACF, said: \u201cWe\u2019re proud of the range of projects we\u2019ve been able to support within our production slate, nurturing stories and concepts we feel will enrich television for young audiences. Throughout the first year, we have been overwhelmed by the quality of the production applications that have secured a broadcast commission and I\u2019m hugely excited about the exciting new UK talent we have been able to support.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The BFI has announced the latest production slate of awarded projects through the government-funded Young Audiences Content Fund (YACF).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1033,"featured_media":18827,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"pmpro_default_level":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[4218,4102],"class_list":["post-18826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","","category-top-stories","tag-bfi","tag-young-audiences-content-fund","pmpro-has-access"],"yoast_head":"\n