Co-op puts £250,000 into campaigning film fund

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7:42 am, September 1, 2009
Co-op puts £250,000 into campaigning film fund

The Co-operative Group is putting £250,000 into the Tipping Point Film Fund, which finances documentary films on issues such as climate change, oppressive regimes, fair trade and animal welfare.

Speaking at the Edinburgh International Television Festival, the Co-op's head of community and campaigns, Michael Fairclough said film could "cut through apathy, generate enthusiasm, and mobilise people to take action and drive change" but money was needed to fund production and distribution.

Fairclough added: "Outstanding films, telling important stories, are made each year, and there is a growing appetite for feature-length documentary films that can explain complex messages in an easily digestible format to a wide and diverse audience."

One of the first films made with the Co-op's money was Burma VJ, about the political party The Democratic Voice of Burma.

The Co-op has also commissioned The Vanishing Of The Bees, a film about the alarming rate at which bees are disappearing all over the world, which will be released next month.

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