UK Film Council to be scrapped
This entry was posted 46 days ago
Yesterday, Jeremy Hunt announced the UK Film Council (set up in 2000) will be scrapped under the new Coalition Government.
The UK Film Council is currently heralded as “the Government backed lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.” It’s disbanding will have huge effects on the UK film industry, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of independent film-makers.
Jeremy Hunt insists that “government and Lottery support for film will continue for the British Film Industry” but evens so, this is a move that has astonished many and will no doubt affect the future of British film-making.
We believe that attacking cultural spending in the face of economic hardship is short-sighted at the best of times, but unlike financial black holes such as the 2012 Olympics the UK Film Council represents an extremely wise investment by the last government. Every £1 invested by the UK Film Council generates £5 in box office revenues, and contributes to our reputation as a world leader in the field of contemporary cinema.
Please show your support for our superb film industry by signing the petition below and following the campaign via twitter @bestforfilm
Sign our Save the UK Film Council petition.
Then find out more on why you would want to save the UK Film Council!
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Oh no. As if it’s not hard enough to get a movie made in this country as it is! (And by the way, I think you meant, “harsh cuts are going to RAIN down on the arts…”?)
This site gets about 300 hits a day. If you all sign our petition, think how close to being a militia you’ll be! You know it makes sense – save the UK Film Council http://tinyurl.com/saveukfilm
I am so not happy about this. We’ve had some really great Brit directors rise up in the last ten years. Duncan Jones (Moon), Neil Marshall (Dog Soldiers, The Descent), Danny Boyle (Just about everything. Oh, okay, 28 Days Later, Sunshine, Slumdog Millionaire). Even Guy Ritchie.
These guys have all worked up from small to big. They’ve all hammered the hell out of low-budget movies with their talent. And, er, with a bit of support and backing.
Without a proper Film Council to handle funds I suspect things are going to dribble away. New and unheard of film directors are not going to get nearly as much support as they need to thrive.
Forget low-budget. It’s going to be no-budget.
Bah. Grumble. Grr.
Thank god. The philistines at the Film Council have finally got their come-uppance. Sustainable film industry? What sustainable film industry? Look at the Film Council’s track record. How many of the decent films that they’ve funded would not have been made otherwise? For a decade they’ve been trumpeting the success of Gosford Park. Does anyone really believe that this film would not have happened without the Film Council? The Film Council has rarely taken risky choices. They have funded the tried and tested and avoided dipping their toes into the world of the innovative. They have created lots of one-off opportunities for people to make a short film – but not enabled them to progress any further. Just feels like tokenism to me. And look what they did to the BFI? That organisation is now practically on its knees given that the Film Council has kept its grant on standstill for almost a decade. Shocking.