The British film industry: institutional context

What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?
The cultural test was introduced in 2007 and is used to allow production companies to apply for UK film tax relief and is administered by the British Film Institute (BFI) on behalf of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport.

Complete the task on the Factsheet, researching the films listed and finding out what they score on the cultural test: Sweeney, Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

The Sweeney:

Financing: £3,000,000
Location: London (4 points)
Characters: Protagonists are British (4 points)
Language of dialogue: English (6 points)
Use of British creativity: 4 points
British subject matter: 4 points
Practitioners: 7 points
Cultural centre: 2 points

Attack The Block:

Financing: $8,000,000
Location: London (4 points)
British subject matter: (0 points)
Characters: British (4 points)
Language of dialogue: English dialogue used (6 points)
Use of British creativity: Black ethnicity used (4 points)
Practitioners: 7 points
Cultural centre: 2 points

The King's Speech:

Financing: £15,000,000
Location: London (4 points)
British subject matter: (4 points)
Characters: British (4 points)
Language: English (6 points)
Use of British creativity:
Practitioners: 7 points
Cultural centre: 2 points

Skyfall:

Financing: £200,000,000
Location: London (4 points)
British subject matter: 4 points
Characters: British (4 points)
Language: English dialogue (6 points)
Practitioners: 5 points
Cultural centre: 2 points

What is the main problem for the British film industry?

The British Film Industry typically had been production led which meant that in order to get the film exhibited the film-makers have to sell their distribution rights to a distribution company. This means that the film-makers don't receive the revenue.

What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?
The strengths of the BFI are that there are outstanding creative skills which result in financially successful franchises. Another strength is that there are outstanding facilities.

What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?

• Relying upon co productions with American companies as they don't have the finances
• To make low budget films targeted at a niche audience where the film-maker is able to retain all profits.