Wise Owl Films, the All3Media-owned Leeds indie behind My Second Hand Home, has opened a youth-focus division led by head of development Lucy Smith.
Hoot will create TV and digital content aimed at 16-34s and will champion the region’s creators and on-screen talent.
Along with The Connected Set, Renaissance Studios and Rockerdale Studios, Wise Owl was recently chosen by Channel 4 as a partner to help the broadcast find emerging diverse on-screen talent.
C4 is funding two trainee researchers to work across Wise Owl and Hoot.
Smith joined the Lime Pictures offshoot as a development executive in January 2021, rising to head of development in June. She has previously worked in development roles for MultiStory Media, Firecracker Films, Shiver and Betty.
Hoot also comprises assistant producer Nathalie Myer, who has worked on Wise Owl shows such as C4’s Second Hand for Fifty Grand and BBC2’s Yorkshire Firefighters, and development researcher Kariim Case, an alumnus of C4’s Production Training Scheme.
Smith said: “Yorkshire is home to exceptional young creators taking centre stage in the Northern creative revolution. I couldn’t be prouder to launch Hoot and empower this entrepreneurial generation with the confidence, technical skills and pitching opportunities to get their ideas made.”
