Film office brings in £15million economic boost to the city in 2017

Published: 7 February 2018

Film, broadcast and other production in Glasgow during 2017 brought £15.13million to the city's economy, according to the latest figures from Glasgow City Council's Glasgow Film Office (GFO).

The GFO attracts productions to the city while coordinating activity to ensure filming goes as smoothly as possible while minimizing the impact on everyday life in Glasgow.

Notable productions shot in Glasgow during 2017 included Sky Atlantic's Patrick Melrose, starring Benedict Cumberbatch; the Netflix feature Outlaw King, starring Chris Pine; the film production Country Music, starring Julie Walters; and the BBC's hospital drama Trust Me, with Jodie Whittaker.

Other productions to generate significant economic boosts to the city were the zombie high school musical Anna & the Apocalypse; the fourth series of Shetland, due to be broadcast next week; David Walliams' TV feature Grandpa's Great Escape; and The Party's Just Beginning, starring Karen Gillan, to be screened this month at the Glasgow Film Festival.

Good news

Councillor Susan Aitken, Leader of Glasgow City Council and City Convener for Inclusive Economic Growth, said: "Over the past couple of decades, the council's Glasgow Film Office has brought over £300million to the city's economy, and I am delighted to say that 2017 was another successful year for Glasgow in this sector.  This success brought yet more stardust to the city, with famous faces such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Chris Pine, Julie Walters and Karen Gillan filming here last year.  The Glasgow Film Office has been a real trailblazer in terms of attracting all types of productions to Glasgow and Scotland, and we can all look forward to the city featuring on our screens in the coming years."

The productions shot in the city included TV projects, features, commercials, short films, 'corporate' productions and stills shoots.  The GFO is the city's film commission, offering a free service to all productions wanting to film in Glasgow, and works closely with them, other council services and Police Scotland to ensure that filming activity has the minimum impact on local residents and businesses while delivering the maximum economic impact.

Since its inception in 1997, GFO has supported many acclaimed and award-winning British productions such as Red Road, The Legend of Barney Thomson and The Replacement, as well as large scale international productions.  Some of the most recent of the latter include Churchill, Outlander, and The Wife.

Visit Glasgow Film Office for more information.