10/10/2003

At the end of last year, a group of 11 MPs (majority Labour) were asked by the UK government to look into the state of the British film industry in a wider examination into the expenditure, administration and policy of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS).
From the broad question 'Is there a British film industry?' the DCMS Select Committee under Labour chairman Gerald Kaufman narrowed six areas on which they decided to focus their attention: -the industry's contribution to the UK economy;

-the importance of British films about Britain in Britain;
-the relationship between the film industry and UK broadcasters;
-the nature of Government support for the industry;
-the structure and performance of the industry
-the performance of the UK Film Council and the British Film Institute.

After six months research and interviews with over 100 UK and US film and TV professionals (including producers Michael Kuhn, Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan, Jeremy Thomas, director Gurinder Chadha) and government representatives, the Committee came to the following conclusion: there is a British film industry extremely important to the country both culturally and economically.

If last year the total spend on filmed entertainment around the world amounted to $63 billion, the UK's share of this market was 5%, a low percentage compared to the US (80%) but a high level compared to the 15% captured by the rest of the world. In financial terms, the British film industry generated up to £1.7 billion in overseas investment and £1.1 billion in domestic investment over the last five years, and the total cost of all film-related tax relief over that period was around £860 million.

The most lucrative area for the local film industry is the provision of services for Hollywood studios coming to the UK to make big budgets movies and to take advantage of attractive tax incentives, quality cast and crew, facilities and a shared English language. In 2002, 19 major feature films were shot in the UK with inward investments estimated at £234m; £165m was spent for the making of 42 domestic features in the UK, and £133m for 43 co-productions shot abroad.