We speak to Charlie, managing director of Eye Film to get an insight into the industry, a very successful recently completed project and a vision for the future of Film in the East.
We now focus on factual content across various sectors: education, environment, science, technology, arts, and culture.
Some standout projects include launching The Castle: Rebuilding History, Discovering the Gloucester Shipwreck, launching John Peel’s record collection, and making The Trials of Amanda Knox for Channel 4.
We first got involved with Norwich Castle in 2016. After a year of building trust, we were allowed to document the transformation project. We pitched it to the BBC for pitch in 2018. There was initial interest, but ultimately, they passed. However, we decided to keep filming regardless, as there we were never going to be able to do this again.
By 2023, with lots filmed but little edited, we decided on a 90-minute feature documentary. Channel 4 came on board in 2024 with Stephen Fry as narrator and Silver Linings as distributor. We secured small investments, including a government tax credit, but Eye Film funded most of it.
We hope the film finds a broader audience beyond the UK, with sales already made in Australia.
The premiere is an opportunity to thank those involved and celebrate the achievement. It’s also a chance to put Norwich, and Norwich filmmaking, on the map.
There’s a lot of talent, a lot of small production companies, but we don’t connect enough. We don’t work together enough, and that’s what the east of England needs: more collaboration, more networking.
We’ve worked with City College since 2012, creating the Media Learning Company (a new model for training people to enter the industry). We’re also setting up new film academies. The goal is to make the east of England a training ground for the next generation. If we do that, others will become interested.
Students make mini-documentaries in a week. The park is home to cutting-edge science. These are stories worth telling. That’s our next focus.
With Norwich Castle’s long-anticipated reopening and the debut of The Castle: Rebuilding History, we spoke with Charlie Gauvain, Managing Director of Eye Film, to delve into the making of the documentary and examine the current landscape of Norwich’s film industry.
