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INDUSTRY UK

Major review announced for British film industry

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UK Minister for the Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey, has announced a major review of British film policy that will identify barriers to growth and prioritise building a more successful British film industry.

Former Secretary of State for Culture, Lord Chris Smith, will chair an eight-strong independent panel of film industry experts comprising Oscar winning writer Lord Julian Fellowes, Optimum Releasing founder Will Clarke, producer Matthew Justice, Sony Pictures Chairman Michael Lynton, Vue Entertainment CEO Tim Richards, Channel 4 Controller of Film and Drama Tessa Ross, Head of Film and Television at Olswang Libby Savill and Chair of the British Film Commission Advisory Board Iain Smith.

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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 filmmaking is still not as profitable as it should be for British filmmakers and there remain significant challenges in getting productions off the ground.”

Smith added, “We want to hear from the industry, from filmmakers, 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 British Film Institute will be responsible for setting and implementing detailed delivery plans within the new policy framework, which will be driven by the challenge to make best use of increased funding becoming available after the 2012 London Olympics. Funding for British film will increase by about 60% by 2014, to around £43m a year.

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