Studying the Effects of Film Policies and Public Funding Bodies on the UK Independent Film Industry

Abstract

This thesis seeks to answer the following research question through a qualitatively analytical approach: “How do current film policies and public funding bodies affect the UK independent film industry?” The EU allows states, including the UK, to intervene in certain markets that are deemed culturally relevant and are vulnerable to market failure. As a result, states provide state aid to film activities due to the cultural, economic, and employment benefits of national film industries. However, the UK government harbors a rocky and contentious history regarding its intervention in the British film industry. The government has largely invited Hollywood projects to conduct production in the country due to the generous tax benefits provided to films with large production expenditures. However, this uptick in production activity due to Hollywood migration does not seem to be helping the UK independent film sector—an industry where films are financed and creatively controlled by British production companies. Such sector has been described as struggling, undercapitalized, fragmented, and subject to market failure. In order to help the independent sector specifically, the UK formed the UK Film Council in 2000 to administer aid to approved independent productions. While a central public funding body was seen as a launching point for the independent sector to grab footing and reach sustainability, the UK Film Council was widely considered a failure due to its investment in commercial flops with no cultural relevance, inability to establish indigenous film sector sustainability, and destructive objective misalignment between producers and the Council. As a result, the Conservative-led Coalition government axed the body and transferred all funding responsibilities to the British Film Institute in 2011. In this thesis, I explore how the current British Film Institute and film policy landscape affects the UK independent film industry. My motivation behind such research is a gap in qualitative literature that reflects and evaluates the Institute and current landscape. As a result, I interviewed twelve UK independent film producers from various budget and company location backgrounds to study the scope of effects. I found that producers experience film policy and public funding body influence under the following seven thematic spheres: 1.) Freedom, Transparency, Unity, and a Commitment to Culture, 2.) Problems due to London-Centric Operations, 3.) The Relationships Between Public, Industry, and Private Investors, 4.) Undervaluing the Role of the Producer, 5.) The Lack of Socioeconomic Diversity, 6.) The Benefits and Challenges of the Tax Relief System, and 7.) Implications of the UK’s Relationship with Europe.