[cma-l] Breaking News: Government Scraps UK Film Council.

[Phil Shepherd]

News just in via
Women in Film and TelevisionThe Voice of Women in Creative Media

BREAKING NEWS...Government Scraps UK Film CouncilThe Department For Culture,
Media and Sport informed the film agency over the weekend that it plans to
abolish the UKFC. John Woodward, CEO of the UK Film Council, told staff
about the decision this morning and Culture secretary Jeremy Hunt is due to
inform the House of Commons at 2:30pm this afternoon.On their website, the
DCMS has announced they will be:'abolishing the UK Film Council and
establishing a direct and less bureaucratic relationship with the British
Film Institute.  This would support front-line services while ensuring
greater value for money. Government and Lottery support for film will
continue.'Tim Bevan CBE, Chairman of the UK Film Council, has responded by
saying:³Abolishing the most successful film support organisation the UK has
ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation.
People will rightly look back on today¹s announcement and say it was a big
mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency. British
film, which is one of the UK¹s more successful growth industries, deserves
better.³Our immediate priority now is to press the Government to confirm
that the funding levels and core functions that are needed to underpin
British film are locked-in, especially at a time when filmmakers and film
companies need more support than ever as they make the challenging
transition into the digital age. To that end, we will work with the DCMS
over the summer to identify how they can guarantee both continuity and safe
harbour for British film.²We'll try to keep you up-to-date with any further
information as this story progresses via our facebook


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.commedia.org.uk/pipermail/cma-l/attachments/20100726/897643c7/attachment.html>