Northern Alliance - BFI

Figures for the Digital Shorts programme in the table above exclude the targeted
interventions, Blank Slate and the more recently introduced The Magic Hour, which
support diversity within entry-level short films. However, it should be noted that
targeted diversity schemes have been promoted from time to time since at least
1996, 50 and typically had similar, temporary objectives to these recent schemes. The
fact that such catch-up schemes are still necessary may reflect either the scale of the
challenge and/or the ineffectiveness and inconsistency of previous initiatives.
“I haven‟t noticed a particular impact from the public intervention to date – in terms
of diversity - as film is still very much a white man‟s domain. Oddly, UK theatre seems
much more diverse: how and why has that been achieved?”
Alexandra Stone, Creative and Management Productions (CMP)
Certainly, the mainstream schemes have largely been cost-inefficient at involving
minority filmmakers.
Table 13: Scheme cost per minority filmmaker, 2006-09 51
Digital
Blank Magic Shorts
Slate Hour (Other) 52
Digital
Shorts
Plus /
Digital Completion Cinema
Nation Fund Extreme
£ per minority 3,563 6,467 6,234 10,000 12,222 25,000
filmmaker 53
£ per female
director
£ per black &
minority
ethnic director
£ per disabled
director
57,000 97,000 25,263 n/a 54 55,000 200,000
9,500 n/a 96,000 30,000 n/a 200,000
57,000 19,400 480,000 n/a n/a n/a
50 The Low Budget Funding Guide (1996) lists two strands targeting diversity: Black Tracks and
the Disability Arts Video Project (both Arts Council England).
51 Cost (NCF + diversity) divided by filmmaker statistics as noted in Table 12 above. Figures
reflect activity up to May 2009.
52 ie the Digital Shorts programme excluding Blank Slate and The Magic Hour
53 Because it has not been possible to identify any double counting within the number of minority
directors, the figure given for the main Digital Shorts programme is the minimum possible figure.
54 n/a = not applicable; in this instance, there were no female directors and hence no relative cost.
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