Glasgow Film Office's Crooks to head New Cinema Fund

Lenny Crooks, currently head of the Glasgow Film Office is set to take over from Paul Trijbits when his tenure as head of the UK Film Council's New Cinema Fund comes to an end on September 18. Crooks founded the Glagow Film Fund and  has backed a number of successful Scottish films, including Shallow Grave, Solid Air (pictured), The Magdalene Sisters, My Name is Joe and On A Clear Day.

As director of the Glasgow Film Office, Crooks has supported the city’s transformation into an internationally recognised creative hub and managed a successful public/private investment fund.  

Announcing Crooks’ appointment, John Woodward, Chief Executive Officer of the UK Film Council said:  “Lenny has an exceptional track-record in finding the most exciting new film talent at the early stage of their careers.  He has also been highly successful in helping producers build alliances with European partners.” 

"I am looking forward to doing what I can to bring through creatively exciting and challenging filmmakers who can secure an even brighter future for new British cineme."

Commenting on his appointment Lenny Crooks said even more effusively, “I am enormously excited about taking on this challenge.  Paul, as the outgoing head of the fund, has established an incredible legacy in supporting such a fantastic range of films and nurturing the talent involved.  I am looking forward to doing what I can to bring through creatively exciting and challenging filmmakers who can secure an even brighter future for new British cinema.” 

Crooks has a strong reputation for supporting filmmakers from backing Andrew Macdonald whose Shallow Grave became a spectacular international film debut for director Danny Boyle, to Gilles Mackinnon with Small Faces, writer Paul Laverty with Ken Loach’s Carla’s Song, Peter Mullan with Orphans, My Name is Joe and The Magdalene Sisters, and Saul Metzstein and Jack Lothian with Late Night Shopping.  He also supported the co-production partnership between Gillian Berrie’s Glasgow-based Sigma Films and Peter Aalbeck Jensen’s and Lars Von Trier’s Danish production house, Zentropa Films and bankrolled the Advance Party slate which led to the production of Andrea Arnold’s Red Road, winner of the Prix du Jury at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. Other GFO backed films include Lynne Ramsay’s Morvern Callar, and David Mackenzie’s Young Adam.

Lenny Crooks CV 

Qualifications:

MBA – University of Strathclyde (1982)  
BSc (Hons) – University of Manchester (1975)  
3 A-levels, 9 O-levels – Belfast High School  (1964 -1971)  

Work History:
 
1997 to date Director, Glasgow Film Office, the industry development
agency for Glasgow and the West of Scotland. Strategic
successes include the facilitation of a film & TV infrastructure,
especially Film City Glasgow a government backed production
and post production facility and industry hub.  Key to GFO’s
success has been the retention and attraction of talent due to
creative interaction with a steady flow of indigenous and
international productions.
 
Films recently co-financed include John Maybury’s ‘The
Jacket’ (Mandalay), Annie Griffin’s ‘Festival’ (Young Pirate
Films) David Mckenzie’s ‘Young Adam’ (Recorded Picture
Company),Soren Kragh Jacobsen ‘Skaggerak’ (Nimbus Films),
Lone Scherfig’s‘Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself’ (Zentropa), Ken
Loach’s ‘Sweet Sixteen’ (Sixteen Films),Peter Mullen’s ‘The
Magdalene Sisters’ (PFP Films).
 
2003 to date Director of Glasgow Film Finance Limited, Scotland’s first
venture capital fund dedicated to feature film investment.
 
1993 to 2003 Founder, director and, from 1997 - 2003, executive director of
Glasgow Film Fund, a partnership between Strathclyde
Regional Council, Glasgow City Council and Glasgow
Development Agency. GFF investments include ‘Shallow
Grave’ (Figment Films), ‘Small Faces’ (Skyline/Easterhouse
Films) ‘The Acid House’ (Picture Palace North/Umbrella
Productions), ‘Carla’s Song’ (Parallax Pictures), ‘My Name is
Joe’ (Parallax Pictures), ‘Orphans’ (Antonine Films), ‘The
House of Mirth’ (Three Rivers Films), Morvern Callar
(Company Pictures).
 
1988-1995 Business Advisor, then Senior Business Advisor at Strathclyde
Business Development specialising in worker owned
enterprises and economic regeneration initiatives. Credited
with the invention of a new funding structure combining
European Regional Development Funds with local economic
development funds to create Glasgow Film Fund.
 
1986- 2000 Company Director of Inverclyde Productions Ltd which
developed new writing talent and produced one feature film
‘The Near Room’ (distr. Metrodrome) starring Adrian Dunbar,
David O’Hara and a very young James McAvoy.
 
1982- 1988 Community Worker with Strathclyde Regional Council‘s Social
Work department in Port Glasgow, supporting individual and
community responses to large scale redundancy. 
 
1975- 1981 Graduate then Chartered Engineer supervising design and
construction of projects as diverse as Mombasa Water Supply
(Kenya), Sarir Airport (Libaua) and Keilder Dam
(Northumberland) 
 
Individual Film Credits:
 
2005 Executive Producer ‘On A Clear Day’ (director Gaby Dellal;
producers Dorothy Berwin and Sarah Curtis for On A Clear
Day Films)
 
2004 Executive Producer ‘Top Spot’ (director Tracey Emin; producer
Melissa Parmenter for Revolution Films)
 
2003 Executive producer ‘Solid Air’ (director May Miles Thomas;
producer Owen Thomas for Elemental Films)
 
2002 Executive producer ‘Morvern Callar’ (director Lynne Ramsay;
producers Robyn Slovo, Charlie Patterson, George Faber for
Company Pictures)
 
2000 Executive producer ‘Late Night Shopping’ (director Saul
Metzstein, producer Angus Lamont for Ideal World Films)
 
1995 Producer ‘The Near Room’ for Inverclyde Productions (director
David Hayman)