I was shocked to learn that the UK Film Council has been axed along with several Quangos including the Health Protection Agency, the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority.
The film council offers the biggest and only real support to the British film industry and this is a bad decision on so many levels. Tim Bevan CBE, Chairman of the UK Film Council said: “people will rightly look back on todays announcement and say it was a big mistake driven by short-term thinking and political expediency.” He is right. This has been a knee jerk reaction to David Cameron telling his ministers they must make cuts within their departments – and this is the offering of the Culture Secretary.
Since it was launched in 2000 the film Council has funded some fantastic films such as Bend it like Beckham, Bright Star, The Constant Gardener, Fish Tank, Gosford Park, Happy-Go-Lucky, In the Loop, The Last King of Scotland, St Trinian’s, This is England, Touching the Void, Vera Drake ,The Wind That Shakes the Barley and Streetdance 3D, the UK’s first 3D film.
Doesn’t the Culture Secretary understand that the British film industry is one of the more successful growth industries and precisely becasue of this, it deserves our support and investment, which it wil see a return on.
I will seek an explanation about the decision from the Culture Secretary as I am particularly concerned about the lack of negotiation, consultation and analysis that has taken place. I will be writing to Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt, seeking to identify exactly how he made this decision.
The UK film industry is relatively embryonic compared with those it competes against on the international stage; the film industry will not survive with national lottery money alone.
Filed under: UK Film Council | Tagged: Culture Secretary, David Cameron
