As far as the UK’s cultural sector goes, these are hard times. The health of British film – which has been one of the clear and major growth industries of the past – has been called into question on numerous occasions in recent years, with cries of concern coming from the top to the very bottom of the spectrum.
Today the Department for Culture, Media and Sport has announced plans to ‘merge, abolish or streamline’ 55 public bodies, with the UK Film Council poised unnervingly close to the guillotine’s blade. Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt has proposed axing the UK Film Council with the view to “establishing a direct and less bureaucratic relationship with the British Film Institute.”
While government and Lottery support for film will continue, Hunt has stated that the primary cause for these cuts is the “current financial situation” which has forced DCMS to reassess ”the role, size and scope of these organisations.”
Since being founded in 2000, the UK Film Council has pumped an annual budget of £15 million into the British film industry, part-financing hundreds of films and establishing several initiatives aimed at investing in the future of British film.
For now it’s difficult to gauge just how far the ripples of these proposed cutbacks will be felt, but we want to hear your thoughts – readers, filmmakers, cinemagoers – on this. How do you think this will effect British film in the long run? What does this mean for you as a patron of British cinema?
Look out for the digi-edition of LWLies Issue 30, in which we talk to key British film figures about the state of the industry, which will be going live very soon.
