Film support and the challenge of ‘sustainability’: on wing design, wax and feathers, and bolts from the blue

In recognition of the importance of film in generating both economic and cultural value, the UK Labour government set up a new agency – the United Kingdom Film Council (UKFC) – in 2000 with a remit to build a sustainable film industry. But, reflecting a plethora of differing expectations in relation to the purposes behind public support for film, the UKFC's agenda shifted and broadened over the organisation's lifetime (2000–11). Apparently unconvinced by the UKFC's achievements, the Coalition government which came to power in May 2010 announced the Council's abolition and reassigned its responsibilities as part of a general cost-cutting strategy. Based on original empirical research, this article examines how the UKFC's sense of strategic direction was determined, how and why the balance of objectives it pursued changed over time and what these shifts tell us about the nature of film policy and the challenges facing bodies that are charged with enacting it in the twenty-first century

Towards a Bourdieusian analysis of the social composition of the UK film and television workforce

This is an Open Access article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 License (http://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits non-commercial use, reproduction and distribution of the work without further permission provided the original work is attributed as specified on the SAGE and Open Access page(http://www.uk.sagepub.com/aboutus/openaccess.htm).The social composition of the workforce of the UK film and television industries does not reflect the diversity of the population and the industries have been described as white, male and middle class. While the lack of specific demographic representation in employment (for example gender or ethnicity) has been highlighted by both industry and academic commentators, its broader social composition has rarely been addressed by research. This article draws on the work of Bourdieu, particularly the concepts of field, habitus and capitals, to explore perceptions of the barriers to entry into these industries and the way in which individuals negotiate these by drawing on the various capitals to which they have access.Peer reviewe

Researcher's guide to British film and television collections

SIGLELD:81/19329(Researcher's). / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Whore

When angry Muslim youth Azeem overhears a group of girls gossiping about his white girlfriend Gemma his suspicions are flared - and so begins a sadomasochistic game in which both parties seek to gain control. This is the soundtrack to the film, which won Best European Short Film at the Angers Film Festival in 2010

The Gloaming, experimental digital cinema researching non-dialogue narrative, 2008

Short film made for the UK Film Council, produced by Roger Shannon former head of the British Film Institute. It was screened in the 7th London Short Film Festival, 2010. The Gloaming is a practice-led research video work framed around questions of contemporary contemplative, experiential cinema. Written and directed by John Bradburn and Andy Paton, this experimental thriller successfully plays with the notion of the non-dialogue narrative, carefully deploying cinematic language to lure the audience into a world of rural mystery and disappearance. Funding was received from Screen West Midlands, the UK Film Council and the The National Lottery