Intro to the British Film Industry

1. 1
What is a British Film?What is a British Film?

2. What British films did you come up with
yesterday?.
Are there any that you are not sure are British?

3. This raises the question…
What is a ‘British’ film?
Or
What makes a film ‘British’?

4.  Diversity makes a defining a ‘British’ film
very challenging.
 Some UK Film Council definitions:
◦ Films principally shot in the UK, using a British
crew/cast
◦ Film’s financed from within the UK
◦ Film’s that are set in the UK
◦ Film’s that address British Identity and Society
What is a British film?What is a British film?

5.  Range of definitions – 32 in total, but to qualify as a
British film only 16 must be met.
 One is that the film represents/reflects a diverse
British culture, British heritage or British
creativity (so we don’t just make lots of imitations
of American films)
UK Film Council Cultural TestUK Film Council Cultural Test

6.  Yes:-
 Director – Paul Greengrass is British
 Large section is filmed in London, some
studio work at Pinewood
 Largely British crew
 No:-
 Doesn’t reflect British themes or
concerns
 Lots of other locations
 Produced by Universal – Frank
Marshall and Doug Liman are
American
 Universal are American owned
company
IsIs ‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ a‘The Bourne Ultimatum’ a
BritishBritish film?film?

7.  Yes:-
 Director – David Yatesis British
 Large sections is filmed in England and
Scotland,
 Largely British crew including
producers
 Largely British Actors
 Based on the work of an British Author
(Rowlings)
 No:-
 Produced/Distributed by Warner Bros –
they are American owned company
 Some key personnel were not British eg
Portuguese Cinematographer
IsIs ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly‘Harry Potter and the Deathly
Hallows’ a British film?Hallows’ a British film?

8. Collaborative SummarisingCollaborative Summarising
Recently, our government has been slated for trying
to encourage more mainstream productions
emerging from the UK.
Read one article, highlighting anything you think is
relevant to the success, decline, or opinions
surrounding the British Film Industry – you will be
sharing your summary with the class

9. Source Summary
BBC News
‘UK films urged to be more
‘mainstream’ in new report’
11.01.12
The Guardian
‘How to save the British film
industry, David Cameron style’
15.01.12
The Radio Times
‘Ray Winstone urges British film
industry to “sort out the dogs and
scumbags”’
04.09.12
DCMS - ‘A Future for British film: It
begins with the audience’
Jan2012
Movie Reviews
‘Should British filmmakers be
more independent?’
31.01.12
The Guardian
‘UK independent films enjoy best
year for more than a decade’
26.07.12
BBC News
‘Producers give backbone to
industry’

10. To compete or not toTo compete or not to
compete…compete…
 Debates surrounding British Cinema have been
around since the increase in Hollywood in the
1920s.
British cinema should be a
national cinema –
representing British culture
to a British audience. To do
this, British films need to be
publicly funded.
British cinema should be a
profitable business,
competing in the
international marketplace,
particularly with Hollywood,
attracting a wide audience.