Funding for the British Film Industry

1. 1
What is a British Film?

2. • British Film Institute (was UK Film Council)
– fund script development, film production, short films, film
export and distribution, cinemas, film education, culture
and archives, festivals and audience support schemes
– Film Fund 15 mil per year (90% of applicants will be
rejected) and money from Lotteries
– Innovation Fund – to help move to the digital age
esp in rural areas
– Export Fund – British films shown at key international film
festivals
Funding for British Films

3. • Co Production deals which BFI can help set
up
• Tax Breaks - Film Tax Relief (25%)
Need to spend at least 10% of the budget
in the UK
Can be a co production but must pass the
Cultural Test
Funding for British Films

4. What else do they do, how do they
help, etc.
• Production
• Distribution
• Exhibition
• Export
• ‘Britishness’
http://industry.bfi.org.uk
Look at the website

5. • Very different to the US set
• Govt support
• Independent Film Production Houses
– Warp Films, Bedlam, Pinewood, Between the
Eyes, Hammer, Aardman Animation
The UK’s top 40 Producers
Go and find out about some of these
companies
Producing British Films

6. • Need to team up with a distribution
company
– ‘British’ Distribution Companies
• Can be very hard to get films made in
Britain and they are not necessarily very
profitable (Harry Potter/James Bond)
• Need to be distinctively British.
Producing British Films

7. ‘Distinctively British’ – what does
this mean?
7

8. • Do British films have to say
something to their audience about the
‘British experience’ to be a success?
Possible Questions

9. • What obstacles or problems do you
think a British studio would face in
trying to find an audience for it’s
films? What might stop that film from
being a success?
Possible Questions

10. • How important for the British Film
industry is the use of UK 'talent' in
films financed outside Britain?
Possible Questions

11.  What strategies do you think can be used
to create a successful British Film
Industry?
Possible Questions

12.  How important is it for the British film
industry to have internationally
recognised stars?
Possible Questions

13. • Harry Potter was primarily funded by Warner Bro but did
include a British production company – Heyday Films
• They received tax breaks (unclear how much but overall
there have been £8bn… This includes the HP films, Gravity,
Maleficent. There were 222 films that received tax breaks in
2014)
• Budget - $250m (shared with Part 2)
• Box Office - $960.3 (wiki – in American cinemas for 140
days, 147 in UK)
Case Studies – Harry Potter

14. • The UK Film Council awarded The King’s Speech
£1,021,080 of Lottery funding. They were included in the
title sequence and give Producer credits.
• The films was also produced by See Saw Films and
Bedlam Productions (Producer credits)
• London’s Prescience Film Finance stepped in to provide
two-thirds of the film’s £9 million ($14.5 million) budget
using its £25 million Aegis Film Fund
• Total Budget - $15m
• Box office – $414.2m (in American cinemas for 126
days, 147 in UK)
Case Studies – The Kings Speech

15. • BBC and Channel 4 rejected this film as they saw it as
being too controversial. Both BBC and C4 are required to
support film making….
• Film 4 finally ended up funding this along with Warp Films
(2.5 mil). Film 4 is owned by Channel $ but does work
independently. Film 4 have worked with Fox Searchlight,
Pathé; France’s cinema giant, and niche producers like
Warp Films.
• Total Budget - £2.5m
• Box Office - £6.9 m
Case Studies - Four Lions

16. • As a micro budget film there were several Production companies
involved - BBC Film, BFI, Creative England, Emu Films, iFeatures
• Production Budget £450,000
• Box Office – Very hard to find information on. It seems to have
been in release for for 4 weeks (from 29 May to 21 June) Weekend
box office - £10,110?????
• Rotten Tomatoes gives it 92%
Case Studies – The Goob

17. What are the consequences of funding
in the UK?