Boom Time: Scotland’s Production Golden Age is Now
3:45pm - 4:45pm
This year marks one of the busiest years for Scotland’s Screen Industry, Home-grown stories are in demand and more international productions and collaborations are coming to Scottish shores. To dive into this exciting, current production landscape, please join Simon Pitts (chief executive, STV), Richard Tulk-Hart (co-CEO, Buccaneer Media) and Susanne Simpson (Executive Producer, Masterpiece PBS) as they share their own experiences, current projects and new Scottish collaborations.
Speakers
Simon Pitts
Appointed to the Board in January 2018. Previously, Simon was a member of the executive board of ITV plc, holding the position of Managing Director, Online, Pay TV, Interactive & Technology. Over a 17 year career there, Simon held a range of senior roles and, as Director of Strategy, was one of the main architects of the company’s transformation under Archie Norman and Adam Crozier and also oversaw strong growth in ITV’s digital businesses. Simon was also on the board of news provider ITN for 8 years and prior to ITV, worked in the European Parliament. He is Vice Chair of the Royal Television Society and a trustee of the STV Children’s Appeal and literary charity Oscar’s Book Prize.
Richard Tulk-Hart
Co-CEO, Buccaneer Media
Richard joined Buccaneer as co-CEO in 2020.
Previously he was Managing Director of International Distribution, Formats and Co-Productions at A+E Networks. He has also worked in other senior TV roles as Head of International and Co Productions at Miramax, Vice President of Sales for EMEA at Fremantle and Vice President of Sales and Distribution at IMG Media.
His EP credits at Buccaneer include Irvine Welsh’s Crime for Britbox, Whitstable Pearl for Acorn and podcast series Murder In House Two on Spotify/Apple.
Susanne Simpson
Executive Producer, MASTERPIECE
Named Executive Producer of MASTERPIECE in 2019, Susanne Simpson is a two-time Academy Award® nominee and two-time Emmy® winner for her documentary and dramatic films for television and theater. Since joining MASTERPIECE in 2007, Simpson has been responsible for such programs as Sherlock, Wolf Hall, Victoria and All Creatures Great and Small, and oversaw all aspects of the U.S. broadcast of the hit series Downton Abbey, the most watched drama in PBS history and recipient of 59 Emmy® nominations and 15 wins. She is also the Executive Producer of MASTERPIECE Studio, a podcast with more than 15 million downloads since 2016. Simpson created theMASTERPIECE Trust, a fund to ensure the future of the series. Prior to MASTERPIECE, she was a Senior Producer for the science series NOVA, responsible for the content development, financing, and production of new programming, and was the executive producer of IMAX productions such as the award-winning Shackleton's Antarctic Adventure and Special Effects with George Lucas’s company, Industrial Light & Magic. Simpson is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, and the Writers Guild.
Jessica Fox
TV/Film director, author and story consultant | XpoNorth film sector specialist
Jessica Fox is a tv/film director, author and story consultant. She created/starred in the Youtube series “My Famous Dead Boyfriend”, directed commercials for PictoProductions and her short “Bluebeard” featured internationally at festivals. Her memoir, “Three Things You Need to Know About Rockets” was ‘romantic memoir of the year’ (Daily Mail) and is in development with Endeavor Content. Most recently she wrapped on her first feature film, “Stella” set in 1937 Scotland and co-founded Innerwell Media. Off set, Jessica created The Open Book, Airbnb’s most popular destination, and is a storytelling consultant for science organizations like NASA. Jessica is proud to be XpoNorth's film sector specialist.
