Behind the Castle: Eye Film’s Story and Vision for the East

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.

Eye Film is one of the most established production companies in the UK. It has been running since 1973.

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.

Norwich Castle: Rebuilding History

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.

Culture in Norwich: Norwich Castle, A Royal Palace Reborn

Watch The Trailer

Challenges within the industry

Okay, so right now, particularly the television industry (and to a certain extent, the film industry) is going through a really tough time. Lots of people have had to leave the industry. There aren’t enough jobs around. A lot of that is due to the commissioning model.

Traditionally, you’d pitch to a broadcaster, they’d say yes, give you money, and you’d make the programme. You owned the IP, and you could sell it on. That was a sustainable business model.

What’s happening today is more like what we’ve done with the Castle. You don’t get full funding from one party; you have to piece it together from different sources.

For us, this is a model we’ve already embraced, and we’re looking forward with it.

But if we were only in film and television, we probably wouldn’t have survived. The fact that we do a lot of non-broadcast work (with businesses, in education, environment, science, and so on) has been key to survival.

Being a Creative in Norwich

To raise awareness for the region we need a cluster, a group.

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.

The industry in the East has evolved dramatically, and although the large broadcasters have pulled back, the region is still home to a remarkable pool of creative talent, waiting for the right opportunities to work together and thrive.

Working With Future Talent

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.

At the Norwich Research Park, we’re running a factual-focused Film Academy.

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.

How do we work together to support the film industry?

To attract more attention, we need to talk, collaborate, form partnerships, and get big projects off the ground.

Short-form content is great, but we also need feature-length productions to build a robust industry here. That takes investment, coordination, and political will.

Creative industries are worth over £124 billion to the UK economy.

With a new regional mayor for Norfolk and Suffolk likely, there’s a real opportunity to push for creative investment here.

You can watch The Castle, Rebuilding History on Channel 4 now!

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