Jane Tranter argues for more TV money -- but will it be spent on telling Welsh stories?

It's  great to see that Jane Tranter from Bad Wolf has recently delivered a keynote lecture in Cardiff, arguing forcefully for greater Welsh Government support for the making of films and TV productions in Wales:

https://www.cardiff.ac.uk/news/view/1448352-jane-tranter-delivers-rts-annual-lecture

More power to her elbow!  Let's hope that the Welsh Government is listening carefully -- given the fact that a bigger and better industry can only raise the "creative industries" profile of Wales, and attract more top talent and top productions.  The potential income flow into Wales is enormous --  many millions of pounds. (Against that, £9 million will have been grant-aided to Bad Wolf alone, by 2017, and quite large sums to other projects and companies as well.  A £30 million media fund has been set up -- less than half has so far been expended.).

BUT -- and this is a big "but" -- there has been nothing in the media coverage of the lecture to suggest that Jane mentioned anything at all about the story of Wales and its inadequate representation in the lexicon of top films and TV serials.  One might sense that there is no commitment  from Bad Wolf to tell Welsh stories for Wales and the World.  Is the strategy really simply to expand the use of Wales as a place for telling other people's stories?  I hope not -- that would be seriously depressing for all those who have recently gone on the record to complain about the marginalisation and exploitation of Wales and the characterisation of Welsh people via stereotypes and caricatures.  Look at how the latest series called "Pitching in" has been slammed.....

It's high time that the Welsh Government stepped in and started to provide a strategic steer -- it has a clear responsibility to promote Wales to the world, and an obvious vehicle, via film and TV, for carrying that duty forward.

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https://nation.cymru/opinion/the-pitching-in-disaster-shows-that-you-need-to-make-in-wales-not-just-set-in-wales/

https://www.walesartsreview.org/sex-education-accidental-elegy-for-post-industrial-wales/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-47310251#

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-44385773

https://www.walesartsreview.org/tv-the-story-of-wales/?fbclid=IwAR36pj5rGRAl-8bEwzWiAXy2x6g9UeB03zvFjS6nruZg865vbwWIO7wEbgA

https://nation.cymru/opinion/we-must-fight-back-against-a-popular-culture-that-depicts-the-welsh-as-idiots/

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-politics-47231099?mc_cid=7d425cb298&mc_eid=e8544fd014

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/raymond-williams-question-who-speaks-13935418

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-42871831

https://theconversation.com/were-seeing-plenty-of-welsh-locations-in-bbc-dramas-one-day-they-may-be-shows-about-wales-92628

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From Auditor General's Report into the Pinewood Affair, June 2018:

(This confirms that a grant of £9 million will have been paid over to Bad Wolf if it remains in Wales and meets certain performance indicators in the period 2017 - 2027)

Bad Wolf Studios Ltd has benefited from a £9 million funding package from the Welsh Government. The funding is structured based on an initial repayable loan of £4.5 million, which can be converted into a grant as soon as performance milestones are achieved within a 10-year period. These milestones relate to both the profitability of the company and the amount of production spend that is generated within the Welsh economy as a result. The remaining balance of £4.5 million is payable as a grant, subject to achievement of additional production spend targets. In addition, the Welsh Government leases to Bad Wolf Studios Ltd, on commercial terms, the Wolf Studios Wales facility in Cardiff Bay.