Criticism over UK Film Council Closure Mounts

During the austerity measures laid out by the coalition government at the beginning of the year, we saw many public services and organisations set up by the previous Labour government reduced or cut as a means to reduce the overall spending. But one of the unfortunate outcomes announced by the Chancellor, George Osborne, was the decision to scrap the UK Film Council.

The UK Film Council was set up in 2000 by the then Labour Government to help develop and promote films and the film industry in the United Kingdom, with the aid of funding from the government and the National Lottery.

It also included schemes to help not only local cinemas, such as the Digital Screen Network – an investment that equipped 210 cinemas with the latest digital projector - as well as the FILMCLUB scheme that allowed schools to run after school film clubs with free DVDs for screening, opportunities to meet professionals and generally encourage youth interest in movie making.

Over the last few years, the UK Film Council has backed a line of successful movies which have garnered not only brilliant film reviews, but a vast amount of critical acclaim, the latest being the BAFTA and Academy Award winning The King’s Speech.

Over the decade the Film Council has been active it has been met with open arms from filmmakers but widespread criticism from politicians, as many saw it as a waste of public funds when it had provided backing to a number of flops. In response to this, in recent years the Council has been more openly accountable, reporting its activities in the film news press.

The Chancellor announced in July 2010 that the UKFC was to be abolished and that the funds would be channelled towards other projects. The British Film Institute and Film London organisations later announced that they would be picking up the duties of the former film council but recent reports have stated that this may cost more in the long-term with over £70 million potentially to be lost in the transition due to cancelled contracts and productions.

The British film industry has experienced an increasing boom over the last few years after releasing many critically and publically acclaimed films, but the loss of the UK Film Council will be felt. We can only hope that integrating the UKFC with the BFI and Film London can help counterbalance the loss of the Council’s prestige, funding, and role as an organisation that increased the awareness of the British film industry.