News Story
Image credit: Planet City, courtesy of Liam Young
The fifth edition of Film London’s Intellectual Property (IP) event, UPstream, returned this month (6 March), showcasing early-stage projects from a diverse range of creative talent, and launching a unique year round online showcase providing a dynamic national and international resource to producers and development execs.
This year’s edition included franchise opportunities from graphic novels, creative theatre talent, novelists, music drama, comedy, animators and a design visionary, pitching their IP to industry professionals.
UPstream is an innovative talent discovery event that reflects and caters for the Film, TV Drama and Games industries’ ever-changing landscape, upholding London’s reputation as a global destination for content and production. In addition to the live event every March, we are launching a new, dedicated UPstream online showcase. This unique new initiative will extend UPstream, providing a dynamic national and international resource. Talent and IP moves fast and the best ideas won’t wait for an annual event. UPstream online is a new talent resource allowing Development Execs to engage with UPstream all year round, making it simpler to find, and connect with, IP creators pushing boundaries and formats.Adrian Wootton, OBE, Chief Executive of Film London
Leading film industry analyst, Stephen Follows, gave the keynote address at this year’s event, sharing his perspective on the impacts of AI. Stephen’s data-driven insights have featured in The New York Times, The Times, The Telegraph and The Guardian, amongst others.
At this year’s UPstream event I addressed the transformative impact Artificial Intelligence will have on intellectual property and opened a discourse on how the film, TV, and games sectors need to drastically adapt their business models in light of these imminent changes. I believe there is an urgent need for the creative sectors to grapple with the uncertainties and opportunities of the forthcoming landscape. It was a privilege to be part of this conversation as it's such an important and timely theme for all creative industries.Stephen Follows
Launched in 2019, UPstream is an exclusive showcase for Intellectual Property (IP) holders with creative projects at varying stages of development, that push beyond the realm of traditional storytelling. UPstream has become a highlight of Film London’s event calendar, showcasing creative, ground-breaking storytellers through avenues such as podcasts, theatre, comics, music and more. The event connects creative cultivators with TV, film and games companies, sales agents, and publishers for development, with IP being acquired and adapted into TV drama or games every year.
UPstream is supported by Film London’s core funders: The BFI, awarding National Lottery funds, and BFI NETWORK, who have directly supported this event; The Mayor of London; and The Department for Business and Trade.
Outreach partners who helped uncover all the projects selected include Vimeo, Miami Media and Film Market, B3 Frankfurt, and She Drew That.
To find out more about UPstream Online and the annual showcase, email upstream@filmlondon.org.uk