FILM IN ENGLAND - UK Film Council - British Film Institute

Consultation 3
20
Film in England
■ The North East still massively affected by industrial decline but with a strong
sense of its own identity
■ The diverse, at times competing, needs and aspirations of practitioners in
Merseyside and Manchester in the North West
■ The South East positioned in the shadow of London but a region building a
strong reputation for new media businesses
■ The communication difficulties in the South West given the huge distance
between the Isles of Scilly at one extreme and Gloucester at the other and,
separately, Cornwall’s stated affinity with the Celtic nations
■ The extensive rural hinterlands in the West Midlands which often feel
overshadowed by Birmingham
■ The growing ambition and confidence of Sheffield and South Yorkshire as a
centre for film and new media production.
3.2.3 Despite the diversity of interests represented, more striking was the extremely
high degree of consensus about what the FILM COUNCIL could and should do to
maximise each region’s potential. In summary, it was thought that the FILM
COUNCIL’s strategy would need to acknowledge:
Diversity
■ A widely held belief that of the available Government resources for film, the
English regions had fared badly in relation to central London, ie that too high
a proportion of resources is being invested in services delivered from London
and in London-based attractions and amenities (eg the bfi National Film
Theatre and the bfi National Library), at the expense of support for similar
activities in the regions
■ That despite good intentions, opportunities for ethnic minorities, disabled people
and other minority groups to progress within the industry have been too limited.
Structural effectiveness
■ That industrial concerns and cultural concerns should be addressed together
and not separated artificially for planning or funding purposes
■ That overall the film sector across the English regions lacks a sense of
common purpose
■ That the planning framework for film in the regions is still underdeveloped
■ That the regions want maximum control of their own destiny and could
effectively express their achievable and realistic intentions through a ‘business
plan’ or ‘investment prospectus’ providing a common planning framework
agreed by all funding partners and stakeholders including the RDAs and the RCCs