Review of film policy announced

The Government has announced that it is launching a review of film policy.

Former Culture Secretary Chris Smith will chair an eight-strong panel of industry experts including Oscar-winning actor and writer Julian Fellowes.

The panel will look across the UK film industry considering development and production, distribution and exhibition, and inward investment. It is expected to report its findings later this year.

The review aims to identify the best ways to support successful business models that allow the UK film industry to contribute to economic growth, nurture talent and engage with UK audiences.

Creative Industries Minister Ed Vaizey said: “This has been an excellent year for British film at the awards ceremonies and we can be really proud of this. But this success masks the underlying problems that the industry continues to face. British film making is still not as profitable as it should be for British film makers and there remain significant challenges in getting productions off the ground.

“Though many issues are rightly for the industry to resolve, the Government can play a big part in helping to make things better. Through this review, Chris Smith will bring the different branches of the industry together to identify what the key problems are and then look at how these can be tackled.”

Lord Smith said: “We want to hear from the industry, from film-makers, from experts, from audiences, and from all who have a contribution to make to the debate. Getting the right framework of policy in place for supporting British film is the challenge we are aiming to address.”

The panel will include representatives from the new board of the British Film Institute (BFI), which recently became the lead body for the delivery of film policy in the UK.

The BFI will be responsible for setting and implementing detailed delivery plans within the new policy framework, which will be driven by the challenge to make the best use of the increased Lottery funding which will become available after the 2012 Olympic Games. Lottery money for British film will increase by about 60 per cent by 2014, to around £43 million a year.

The panel will help set the Government’s strategic direction for how the UK film industry can best be supported to develop successful business models that allow them to contribute to economic growth whilst nurturing our celebrated film talent and engaging with UK audiences.

Chris Smith said:

“I'm delighted to be leading this review. As we've seen from recent awards, British film at its best can beat the world. But how can we ensure that it's always able to achieve its best: that's the crucial question. How can Government and the industry work together to do so?

“We want to hear from the industry, from film-makers, from experts, from audiences, and from all who have a contribution to make to the debate. Getting the right framework of policy in place for supporting British film is the challenge we are aiming to address.”

Chair of the BFI, Greg Dyke said:

“The BFI is very keen to work with Chris Smith on the policy review, which will principally look at how the film industry in Britain can grow further. We welcome being fully involved in the process and are glad that three of our governors will be on the panel and that we will be leading on part of the review itself in the areas of learning and audience engagement. During this time, we will be developing the BFI's own strategic forward plan, which will obviously be influenced by the Government policy review.”

Lord Fellowes said:

“I am delighted to be part of the Government’s film policy review. It has been a great year for British film but it is important that we keep up this momentum and so I welcome the Government’s initiative on this.”

The review panel will comprise:

• Will Clarke – Independent Cinema Distributor, founder and former CEO of Optimum Releasing
• Lord Julian Fellowes, Oscar® winning writer and actor
• Matthew Justice, UK Film Producer and MD of Big Talk Productions
• Michael Lynton, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer of Sony Pictures Entertainment
• Tim Richards, Chief Executive of Vue entertainment
• Tessa Ross, Channel 4 Controller of Film and Drama
• Libby Savill, Head of Film and Television at Olswang
• Iain Smith, film producer and Chair of the British Film Commission Advisory Board

For more information go to www.culture.gov.uk