The organisers of the Glenrothes Film Festival have hit out at government plans to scrap the UK Film Council.
Pete Rabjohns has called on Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt to re-think his plans to axe the organisation. In addition to providing funding for Film Production in the UK the council also supports the British Federation of Film Societies (BFFS) which in turn helped set up the Glenrothes Community Cinema, the people behind the Glenrothes Film Festival.
“In the ten years since it was set up, the UKFC has turned the British Film industry around, taking an industry then in decline and transforming it into the internationally respected and successful industry we see today. Many prominent British actors owe their success at least in part to the UKFC. ”
“Nor is it just about investment and return – although for every £1 it invests £5 comes back through the box office, and the industry as a whole now contributes £5bn to the UK economy each year - the UKFC provides a range of services that attract international film makers to the UK, which is why the decision to scrap the UKFC has been so strongly critcised by directors like Steven Spielberg and Clint Eastwood”
“It is responsible for some of the most successful UK hits including In the Loop, Bend it Like Beckham and Gosford Park. Last year it received £63.3million income from the Lottery and grant-in-aid.
Axing it would save just £3million a year.” – Source: Daily Mirror
“From the Community Cinema point of view, if there is no more UKFC, then the future of BFFS is also in jeopardy. If there is no BFFS, there is no more support for community cinema, and no more festivals like G::2010″
“Take the East Coast of Scotland as an example: There are no commercial cinemas between Dundee and Aberdeen. That’s a priority area for us. BFFS can provide help, advice, technical expertise and equipment to anyone interested in creating a community cinema in those areas. These services are largely free, and provided by volunteers like ourselves. If BFFS ceases to exist, our aim of providing “Cinema for All” becomes unfeasible”
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Further reading:
Article in Guardian (Clint Eastwood)
Article in Telegraph (Steven Spielberg)
Article in Daily Mirror (Bill Nighy, Emily Blunt etc)
