Shooting on three Film and Music Entertainment (F&ME) projects wrapped up in North America last week, bringing to a close a busy twelve months working largely outside of Europe, in the wake of changes to the UK system of tax funding last year.

The first to wrap was F&ME’s The Turtle’s Song which completed principal photography off Florida on Tuesday of this week. The film has been shooting for a year all over the Atlantic and beyond, and is the first foray into feature documentary film making by two-time Emmy winner Nick Stringer. A collaboration with Stringer’s own Big Wave Productions ,F&ME brought in regular partners Allegro films and Tradewind Pictures from Austria and Germany who in turn signed up the Austrian film Institute and Filmstiftung NRW. The film has pre-sold to Polyband in Germany, Ascot Elite in Switzerland and S2 in Spain via world sales agent Sola Media.

"It’s great to have been able to use the UK tax credits on an international co-production in a way that has been a real asset to the financing of this international project," says F&ME’s Mike Downey, "I was worried that we would have to find other ways of supporting our predilection for ambitious international projects when the UK tax laws changed last year, but with this project it has not proved to be the case."

The Turtle’s Song tells the story of the challenging, life-long journey of the enchantingly charismatic and perseverant loggerhead turtle. Small but immensely strong, these determined creatures follow in the path of their ancestors on one of the most extraordinary journeys in the natural world. Post production in Austria, Germany and the UK is already underway.

Carrie Fisher starrer White Lightnin’ also completed its last phase of shooting in West Virginia this week. Directed by commercials whiz and first timer Dominic Murphy, the film tells the story of cult figure Jesco White (played by newcomer Edward Hogg) who is the last of the great Appalachian mountain dancers. Submerged deep within the roots of a backwoods culture, Jesco a tormented soul, struggling to deal with an overwhelming desire to avenge his father’s brutal murder whilst combating abject poverty, drug abuse, petty crime and erratic mental instability.

"We finished the first phase of the shoot back in October," says F&ME’s Samantha Taylor, "But for weather reasons had to go back. The film has been in the editing room since the beginning of November. We will also probably do a quick second unit shoot in March, again, for reasons of weather. Again, we have managed to combine a US shoot with European public funding, taking advantage of the UK tax credit and shooting many of our interiors in Croatia. And as an aside, I have to say the quality of services provided by our partner there, Mainframe Productions, was world class."

White Lightnin’ is a collaboration with two unlikely bedfellows, New York hipster bible Vice Magazine and the New Cinema Fund of the UK Film Council. The film was written by Vice founder and owner Shane Smith along with Eddy Moretti. Robert Bevan and Sam Horley of Lumina Films saw an early draft of the script and came on board from the start and with F&ME wrangling a pre-sale to UK distributor Momentum the film is looking to be finished in time for Cannes. Guy Richie regular DOP Tim Maurice Jones shot the film and editing is being handled by Sam (Sexy Beast) Sneade. Designer was Black Hawk Down production designer Ivo Husnjak .

Finally Buick Rivera, a film adaptation of the novel by Milenko Jerkovic wrapped in Fargo, North Dakota last Friday. The film is on the Bavaria Films International roster here in Berlin and is produced by long-time Downey collaborator Boris T Matic and directed by leading Croatia director Goran Rusinovic from his own screenplay.

Buick Rivera is a film about the ominous meeting of two men from ex Yugoslavia who share contrasting religious beliefs and nationalities, their similarities and differences as a result of the war fought for the city of Sarajevo by their respective religious groups.

A project that originated somewhere between the Cannes Cinefondation and the Sarajevo CineLink, the race is now on to have the film finished in time for Cannes.

In the interim Downey and Taylor have been working on several new financing models, which will be announced after Cannes. The first of which is a $1 million development fund pieced together from a mixture of private equity, the MEDIA programme and their own in-house rolling fund.

"One of the advantages of being prolific," says Downey, "is that our development funding is constantly coming back to us and usually with a 50 per cent premium. We have pieced together a rolling fund that works both for us and for our private investors, who, at the end of the development period also have the opportunity to come in on the financing of the film itself, roll over the development money into our next slate, or cash in."

The first project to benefit from this fund is Peter Milligan’s The Enemy which F&ME have developed along with Pathe and David Marlow’s Silverlight Media . Milligan, an acclaimed graphic novelist, wrote the Ray Liotta starrer Pilgrim and Budgeted at £2 million the film will be directed by commercials whiz and first time director Keith English.

The Enemy is a vicious urban morality fable. Gary Mullen is in Hell. He’s lost his son in a tragic accident. His marriage is on the rocks, he’s lost his job, he’s out of money... our story starts as Mullen stands looking into London’s Highgate cemetery, bereft. On the surface Matt Flowers has everything - a successful restaurant business, a lovely daughter and a secure marriage. However, he is not as blamelessly charming as we might have imagined - with a string of infidelities to his name, and a chequered financial history. When Matt knocks into perfect stranger Mullen, he saunters on to work, oblivious to the split second collision that has changed his life forever. Because in this split second Mullen realises his mission. The next best thing to climbing out of Hell... is dragging someone else down with you.

Also in the F&ME 2008 line up is Jesus Christ Airlines, a project that deals with the world’s first televised disaster, that of the Biafran war and its consequences. A first draft screenplay has been commissioned from noted Icelandic writer Jon Atli Jonasson and it tells the story of Father Lochlan O’Neill, it was officially called Jointchurchaid (JCA) but the daredevil pilots called it the Jesus Christ Airline with a swagger of pride and hint of awe. For almost two amazing years, JCA flew in aid to Biafra over Nigerian air space, keeping the small, breakaway West African state alive. By night they fly in arms to the rebels, as dawn breaks they fly out starving children.

Currently being written is The Laughter Clinic, a US set dystopian comedy penned by Paul Provenza (The Aristocrats) and Dan Pasternak. The Laughter Clinic will be directed by Ed Blum whose last film was Scenes of a Sexual Nature.

Also supported by the new F&ME fund is director Eicke Bettinga's debut feature Untitled Stasi Project. The film is being produced by Zorana Piggott of newly formed 011 Productions in collaboration with Film and Music Entertainment.

Finally, Downey will develop an epic adventure story based on the Voyage of the Beagle and the life of Charles Darwin along with F&ME chairman Stephen Daldry. Currently at the idea stage, Daldry and Downey are currently casting around for writers in what will be their biggest project to date.

"We will also carry over from our last year’s development roster FAKE! and Clifford (The Hoax) Irving the writer of the source material is currently writing a new draft of the screenplay.

Other highlights on the F&ME horizon in Berlin include the first international market screening of their animation film Quest for a Heart. This amazing fairytale adventure, starring Mackenzie Crook as Rolli and Lisa Stansfield as Millie is a traditional animated feature film for the entire family about the importance of love and friendship, and features songs written by Billy Elliot writer, Lee Hall.