LONDON, UK – In a shock announcement, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has announced that the UK Film Council is to be axed, in a major blow to the British film industry.
The UK Film Council is Britain s leading film agency, funding a wide range of films, supporting new talent, digital schemes, and providing training programs. Launched in 2000 by the previous Labour government, the UK Film council has invested £160 million over 10 years into more than 900 films that have grossed over £700 million at the box office.
Films to benefit from the scheme have included high profile hits such as Bend it Like Beckham, The Constant Gardener, The Last King of Scotland, Vera Drake and many short films including BAFTA winning ‘I Do Air’ directed by Martina Amati.
The news has been met with discontent and confusion as a recent independent report showed how the UK Film Industry contributes £4.5 billion yearly to the economy, and is one of the few sectors weathering the recession. Leading film industry professionals have questioned why an agency that is profitable for the economy is being closed. To further add to the decision s ill timing, the scheduled close of the UK Film Council will be completed in April 2012 before the London Olympic Games, where the world will be watching and British culture will be on display.
Tim Bevan, Chairman of the UK Film Council issued this statement shortly after the announcement, Abolishing the most successful film support organization the UK has ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation. People will rightly look back on today’s announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency. British film, which is one of the UK’s more successful growth industries, deserves better.
One of Britain s most respected filmmakers, Mike Leigh, on Monday said, “It’s from left of field in a very sudden and devastating way…It really is no way to operate.”
Lord Puttnam, President of the Film Distributors Association added, Today s announcement proposing the abolition of the UK Film Council, which would appear to have come out of the blue, will take some time to digest fully. Over the past decade, the Film Council has been a layer of strategic glue that’s helped bind the many parts of our disparate industry together.. .
Martin Spence of the BECTU Union said that, This decision is economically illiterate and culturally philistine. Film is an export success story – we sell British production skills throughout the world. And film is also a crucial cultural resource. But the industry is desperately fragmented and long experience tells us that it needs a national agency to achieve its potential. This is all about politics..”
Filmmakers, students and professionals from all corners of the industry have voiced their concerns using the web. One particular initiative that has grown over night is a group on facebook Save the UK Film Council , which has over 10000 members as of Tuesday afternoon. The group has also started an online petition to convince the government to re-think the decision and comments have come in from across the country.
With the UK Film Council s planned closure, the British Film Industry faces a new challenge to support its future, leaving the BFI to appropriate funding from the national lottery. Despite the flaws of the UK Film Council over the past years, and the infamous bureaucracy filmmakers have had to weave past, the agency played a key role in centralizing the British Industry and green lighting innovative projects. Those suffering the most from the axe will be students and young talent, as they face an uphill battle to create their films without a national film agency.
