A MULTI-million pound partnership has secured funding to support and grow screen industries in York and across the region.

The partnership, led by the University of York, Screen Yorkshire and the British Film Institute, has been named by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as one of nine successful bids to host a Research and Development programme to develop the screen economy in Yorkshire and the Humber.

A total of £15 million will be invested in the programme, which includes the AHRC funding.

The ‘Creative Media Labs: Innovation in Screen Storytelling in the Age of Interactivity and Immersion’ programme will enable Yorkshire and Humber to capitalise on its growth in the creative sector and establish the region as a leader in digital storytelling by investing, re-skilling, innovation and commercialisation of ideas and content.

York has been a popular filming destination recently, with the casts and crews for a number of TV programmes, including ITV drama Victoria and the BBC's Gentleman Jack, visiting to film.

Professor Damian Murphy, from the University of York, said: “The UK film, TV and games industries are world-leaders and a significant part of the country’s creative economy, but on-demand services such as Netflix, YouTube, gaming and virtual reality are changing how we create and consume this content. These developments present both challenges and opportunities for our creative screen industries."

He added: “The AHRC support for the programme is an exciting opportunity to build on an already impressive reputation at York. We are delighted to be working with Screen Yorkshire and BFI on this project, and are looking forward to developing partnerships with film, TV and games companies from across our region, as well as nationally and internationally, to co-create leading programmes of activity in digital storytelling, with researchers from the University of York and our other connected Yorkshire universities.”