Film London’s groundbreaking new early-stage Intellectual Property (IP) showcase platform, UPstream, launched last week (Tuesday 4 March) with a kickoff event at London Transport Museum, where guest speakers Ollie Madden, Director of Film4 and Channel 4 Drama, and award-winning theatre producer Francesca Moody shared their insights on commissioning and IP development with event attendees.

UPstream showcases a meticulously-curated selection of new and exciting adaptable IP and early stage projects, drawn from the UK, as well as Europe and the US, for an audience of both domestic and international Film, TV and Games producers and development executives. This year’s event featured creatives including Frieze Prize Winner Laurence Lek, An EmmyAward-winning journalist presenting the Museum of Broken Relationships, and Youtubestar Olivia Cordell to name but a few.

Guest Speaker Ollie Madden opened the day with a Q&A with Film London’s Chief Executive, Adrian Wootton. Ollie Madden is the Director of Film4, backer of recent films such as We Live In Time, Kinds of Kindness, Love Lies Bleeding and All of Us Strangers. In 2024, Ollie’s role was expanded to include responsibility for Channel 4 drama commissioning.

Madden underlined hopes for the commerciality of independent film “In terms of the general picture, we’re pretty bullish about it. The theatrical box office for independent film is strong,” he continued, citing the release of recent titles Conclave, We Live In Time, The Brutalist, Anora and Longlegs.

“There’s a big new 20-something, 30-something crowd that are driving things,” he suggested. “Audience members who are following specific filmmakers or brands – we haven’t seen that for a few years and that’s exciting. The success of [Yorgos Lanthimos’s Film4 title] Poor Things was driven by younger audience members. [Lanthimos’s previous film] The Favourite was driven by older audience members, who were then freaked out when they saw the movie!”

Madden added "Every film we’ve backed has qualified as a British film. It's a really important part of our remit, but the business model doesn’t work if the work isn't globally viable."

Multi award-winning theatre producer Francesca Moody MBE joined after lunch to discuss her track-record as one of the UK’s most exciting producers of original IP - including Fleabag and Baby Reindeer – and her vision for the years ahead. Francesca highlighted "the relationship between film and TV and Theatre", underlining that "we believe in a more holistic way of telling stories, allowing the artist to tell their story through multiple mediums."

Asked if she could tell in advance that Fleabag and Baby Reindeer would be such big hits, Moody stated "When you tell a story from such an original perspective, it’s always going to meet success."

Moody's main message to fellow producers and developers for the years ahead was "if you trust the artist, the work will be truly brilliant. It helps inspire our development style. Give artists freedom and develop them at the right moments."

To access all of the projects from the event and more, sign up for Upstream on Substack.

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.