Film review calls on ITV and BSkyB to support British film

ITV and BSkyB should invest more in the production and acquisition of British films, according a review of British film policy commissioned by Culture Minister Ed Vaizey and chaired by Chris Smith.

The review, published today, makes 56 recommendations to boost the British film industry and comes a week after Prime Minister David Cameron called for lottery funds to back more overtly mainstream films.

However, Lord Smith appeared to distance himself from Cameron’s call for the industry to focus largely on mainstream films, saying that he advocated “support for the widest range of movies from the overtly arty to the overtly commercial and much in between.” He added: “We are not trying to dictate an artistic vision here.”



Among the recommendations in A Future of British Film are: the creation of a British Film Week; financial incentives to encourage collaborations between producers and distributors at the initial stages of financing a project; and a scheme to bring digital screens and projectors to village and community halls.

The report called on the major broadcasters to invest more in the screening, acquisition and production of independent British film. Acknowledging that the BBC and C4 were the only broadcasters currently investing in the production of British films, Lord Smith said:  “Broadcasters should do more to support British film.” He added that ITV and Sky, in particular, “should be doing more - both in terms of supporting British production and in terms of acquisition policies.”

The review recommended that the government start “immediate discussions” with each of the major broadcasters so they can set out their “agreed commitments” to support British film.

The review also says that the BFI should relax its recoupment targets, allowing producers of successful lottery funded films to keep more of the profits. It says that whenever the BFI recoups funding from a successful film that it has backed, the money should be held in trust by the BFI and made available for future film-making activity by the producer. It also recommends that the BFI introduces a funding mechanism that recycles development funding back to companies that have achieved success, to be revinvested in further development activity.

The recoupment proposals were welcomed by producers' organisation Pact, which said they would help UK companies and creatives to share in the success of UK produced films and give them access to much needed revenues which can be re-invested in UK originated feature films.

Pact chief executive John McVay said: "Creating British businesses that can invest in British films benefits everyone – producers, writers, directors, actors and crews, and, ultimately, provides a richer, more diverse range of films for British audiences."

Elsewhere, the report calls on the BFI to support animation development and the development and production of independent British family films for children and their parents.

It adds that market testing - such as test screenings and audience research - should be encouraged by the BFI and should be funded by ‘marginal increases in individual Lottery awards.

Elsewehere, the report stresses that producers and distributors should work more closely together from the initial stages of financing a film, and recommends that the BFI creates Joint Venture Lottery funding to be accessed by partnerships between producers and distributors.

The full report can be found here.