Funding & Support

By Myles Egan

What was the UK film council?

The UK Film Council (UKFC) was set up in 2000 by the
Labour Government to develop and promote the film
industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private
company limited by guarantee, owned by the
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport. It was
funded
through
various
sources
including
predominantly the National Lottery.

What do they do?

Funded films included Andrea

Arnolds second feature film
Fish Tank

The UK Film Council aim to broaden the quality, range and ambition of film
projects being developed in the UK. With 12million of Lottery funding to
invest over three years, the fund aimed to build a talent-driven home for
writers, directors and producers. It helped filmmakers of all experience
levels develop their ideas and screenplays into successful feature films.
There were two funding programmes, one for first-time feature filmmakers
and one for established filmmakers. The First Feature Film Development
Programme aimed to identify and support emerging filmmakers (e.g.
screenwriters, writer/directors and writer, director, producer teams) who
had not made a feature film or who had not yet had a feature film released

How did they help short films and short film

makers?
There are three funding programmes:
The First Feature Film Development Programme aimed to identify and
support emerging filmmakers (e.g. screenwriters, writer/directors and
writer, director, producer teams) who had not made a feature film or who
had not yet had a feature film released theatrically or broadcast on UK
television. The fund also offered Signature Awards to help further encourage
ambitious and original filmmakers and projects.
The New Cinema Fund supported emerging talent and established
filmmakers working outside the mainstream, focusing on the most
innovative writing and the most gifted directors. The fund had 15million of
Lottery money to invest over three years and funded eight to ten feature
films each year. It had a strong commitment to supporting work from
minority ethnic filmmakers and encouraged the use of digital technology in
the production, distribution and exhibition of films. It also supported over
100 short films each year through its short film schemes.
The Premiere Fund invested 8million of Lottery funding per year into
mainstream, commercially-driven films encouraging the involvement of

What was the position and role of the BFI prior to

the creation of the film council?
The BFI was introduced in 1933 and helped with
funding etc. It has been around for far longer than
UK Film Council as it is still very knew and was
founded in 2000 by Labour, which took over funds
and left the BFI in charge of film archives, schedule
for
National
Film,
education,
Sight&Sound
Magazine and The Museum of Moving Image
Theatre. With the UK Film Council in charge, they
attempted to make it more democratic and easier
for shorts and the BFI was thought to be making
feature films to artistically develop, but the two
companies couldnt agree and had mixed views on
funding etc. and by 2011, the UK Film Council were
taken over by BFI and therefore BFI re-received the
responsibility back for the funds.

How has the position and role of the BFI changed

since the recent government decision to dismantle
the UK Film Council
On the 26th of July 2010 the Conservatives
suggested that the UK Film Council should come to
an end, and so on the 31st of March 2011, John
Woodward, the Chief of the UK Film Council
stepped down, which resulted in the UKFC shutting
down and the BFI taking over.
In 1983 BFI received a Royal Charter (A formal
document issued by a monarch as a patent
granting the power to a corporation and is used to
establish significant organizations). This was then
brought up to date in 2000 and the newlyestablished UK Film Council were made responsible
for providing the BFIs annual Grant-in-aid. As an
independent registered charity, the BFI is regulated
by the Charity Commission and the Privy Council.
When the BFI became in charge of the UK Film
Council, it took control and lead to a small amount
of people being made redundant.

What is the role and remit of the BFI?

The transfer of responsibility from the UK Film Council in 2011 left
the BFIs role and responsibilities as:

BFI has three different types of income:

Public Money This is passed through the Department for Culture,
Media and Sport.
Curing 2011-2012 the funding by
the public made a total of
20,000,000.
Commercial Activity BFI London IMAX Theatre and the distribution of
DVDs.
Funding grants, sponsorship and donations The National Lottery
funded grants and
private sponsors.

BFI Roles:

Distribution of all Lottery Funds for film The UKFC would make the
UK a global hub for film in the digital age compared to BFI whos role was
the production and development of the Film Fund. Theyre given
15,000,000 a year to invest in development, production and completion of
feature films.
To support and assist film makers producing there film In 2012
there was the BFI Shorts which Lighthouse was in charge of, although now
is closed. However, in 2013 if you wanted to fund a short film, you could

In what respects and to what extent does the UK

Film Council continue to exist as an institutional and
cultural film body?
After the UK Film Council shut down, a lot of the
staff transferred to BFI as they were similar
companies and due to them re-receiving
responsibilities for funding, they would now have
more vacancies within the company. This shows us
to an extent that the UKFC is in some respects still
exists but within the chambers of the BFI.
The policies within the UK Film Council are also
very dominantly influential towards those of the BFI
due to the government plans that install the
organization.
Ed Vaizey announced The BFI would take on the
bulk of responsibilities previously handled by the
outgoing UK Film Council. This shows that
although the new BFI leadership, the UK Film
Council will remain true to the way in which it was
run.

Noel Clark, an actor

and director told the
BBC Im very sad that
theyre breaking down
but the BFI is going to
continue what they do
this tells us that to an
extent the UKFC is still
an institutional and
cultural film body as it
still has the same
effect in the way it was
run
and
therefore
effects the same sorts
of directors, artists,
audiences etc.

What were the Regional Screen Agencies (RSAs) that

Film Council funding was delivered through?
The UK Film Council funded 9 regional screen agencies due to its
Regional Investment Fund for England. These were:
EM Media East Midlands
Film London London
Northern Film & Media Newcastle
North West Vision & Media
Screen East
Screen South Folkestone
Screen West Midlands
Screen Yorkshire Leeds
South West Screen
These all took part in helping provide and support within
production, training, screen commissions, cinema exhibition,
archives and education.

Other Funding Sources

Outside of the BFI there are numerous amounts of

short film funds in the UK:

he British Film Council

The British Council Film Works with a
worldwide
network
and
a
range
of
international partners to develop imaginative
film
projects,
including
organizing
programmes of contemporary British films,
advising on international events (festivals,
seminars,
master
classes,
workshops,
UK/European film weeks, multi-arts festivals
etc), and arranging for filmmakers and expert
film industry specialists to represent the UK
abroad.
They are committed to showcasing new UK
talent for all audiences and operates a
programme called the Short Support Scheme
selecting new UK short films to promote at
CineCrowd
international festivals, and runs an associated
Travel Grant fund launched in May 2012.
CineCrowd is a crowd-funding platform for
feature films, animation films, documentaries
and video clips, and welcomes all types of
audiovisual projects. Over 80% of all
CineCrowd projects are successful in finding
financial support - more than on any other

Charities are also a possible source

for funding that are somehow
linked to the goals/aim of your
short film. As an example, the
Wellcome Trust, one of the UK's
largest medical research charity,
has an Arts Awards which funds
projects, as well as short films,
that are inspired by biomedical
science.
It is possible to gather funding
from Local Councils who will put
money towards short film making,
especially if it is dealing with social
exclusion
or
aids
the
local
community in some way.