In New Zealand we have a conservative government and our Film Commission has just been reviewed. In the UK, the new Conservative-Lib/Dem government decided to just shoot theirs in the head:
This decision could prove devastating to an entire generation of film-makers; for all its ups and downs, the Film Council has got involved with the likes of Armando Iannucci, Andrea Arnold, Lynne Ramsay, Peter Mullan, Sam Taylor-Wood, Kevin McDonald and Pawel Pawlikowski. How much credit the council can take for their film-making is up for debate, but it has at least functioned as the connective tissue between such disparate talents.
(There’s a section on the demise of the UK Film Council in The Guardian and more reaction at the excellent aggregator Mubi.com/Notebook.)
The UK Film Council is dead – long live the British film industry! http://bit.ly/as1ss4
Good and passionate article. I’m not convinced yet either way. I just thought it was interesting that here in NZ we chose reform of the organisation rather than annihilation and I’m concerned that there has been no alternative vision or strategy announced. Yours would be a start.
Is there are a 48 Hours competition or equivalent in the UK? It’s one way to get people making films and get them screened in front of an audience.
And look out for my Inception review here soon. I’ll jump it up the queue as it goes to print tomorrow.