Sci-fi creators win cash boost

The Film Council says it wants writers to go boldly where no-one has gone before to create "a new breed" of sci-fi movies.

The resulting films are likely to be in a similar vein to cult hits Cube, Dark Star and Hardware, which all put a different twist on the genre.

The project, called New Steps Beyond, will give $3m (£1.95m) to develop projects by three writers.

It was launched on Thursday with a debate in London at which Il Postino director Michael Radford discussed ways to re-invent sci-fi with an invited audience of authors.

The Film Council said sci-fi has potential for creative and commercial development.

'Stronger industry'

UK writers are too preoccupied with period pieces, gangster movies or kitchen-sink dramas, the organisation said.

"This venture is another step towards building a stronger UK film industry," according to Paul Trijbits, head of the Film Council's New Cinema Fund.

"We're not looking for a future we have already seen, but a completely new vision - one which explores the outer limits of our current imaginations."

The films will be made in conjunction with UK producers Box Film.

Gub Neal, founder of Box Film, said: "We relish the opportunity to encourage new talent to tackle the sci-fi genre, particularly at a time when British film-makers should be provoked into thinking more about genre storytelling.

"With sci-fi there is a fantastically exciting range of possibilities to be explored - we hope that this scheme will help demonstrate just how varied those possibilities are."

Mr Neal has previously produced controversial docu-dramas including Sunday, about Bloody Sunday, and Hillsborough.