31st January 2006

DO YOU THINK THE DISTRIBUTION AND EXHIBITION OF FILM NEEDS MORE MONEY FROM THE NATIONAL LOTTERY?

Do you think the distribution and exhibition of film needs more money from the National Lottery? If so, please spare a few moments to read this article and complete the brief online questionnaire to have your say and show your support for film. This is time critical & must be done before the end of February.

The Government is asking the public's opinion, via a web-based questionnaire, on how National Lottery money is allocated to the arts, film, sport and heritage. Film currently receives only 2% of the Lottery money allocated to the good causes.

Film has got until the end of February to make the case that it should get a bigger share of National Lottery money. The questionnaire has sections for comments on all the four good causes. Film is in section 2. Here's a quick guide to filling in the Film Section:

  1. Set a username and password. You just need to give your age bracket, place of residence and area of interest.
  2. Skip to the Film section. Just click 'next' at the bottom of the first page.
  3. Have your say. There are 2 questions with multiple choice answers and a space for comments if you wish to include any. The first is about what lottery money has achieved in film already, and the second is about what Lottery money could be used for in the future. Details of past achievements and future plans are summarised below for your reference.
  4. That's it. There's no need to fill in any other section unless you want to. Just click 'skip to end' at the bottom of the Film page, then click on 'finish' at the bottom of the final page to exit and submit your form.

Click: www.lottery2009.culture.gov.uk/consultation/lo_registration/registrationform.asp to go straight to the questionnaire.

When you have completed the questionnaire please do pass on this information to others in your organisation so they too can make their case for National Lottery money for film. The more people who comment and support, the better (no matter who they are or what their status).

You'll have your own ideas about how you think Lottery money should be spent, but as a reminder there are few highlights of what Lottery money has achieved so far, as well as future plans, detailed below.

Achievements
Giving audiences more choice:

  • Specialised films such as The Motorcycle Diaries, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Downfall, House of Flying Daggers, Bad Education, A Cock & Bull Story, Vera Drake, Bullet Boy and Maria Full of Grace have received wider releases using Lottery money through the P&A Fund, so that more people have more choice over what they watch at the cinema.
  • 212 cinemas across the UK are receiving state of the art digital film projectors to facilitate wider distribution and exhibition of more specialised, classic and foreign language movies.
  • The Cinema Access Programme has funded cinema equipment to enhance the cinema experience for people with hearing and sight impairments and supported a website dedicated to those with sensory impairments to gain greater information and understanding of their local cinema.
  • Increased access to films in rural and remote communities through awards to local film societies and cinema clubs.

Making great films:

  • Lottery money has supported the production of 115 feature films and over 300 short films.
  • Around 34 million people in the UK and 103 million people worldwide have seen Lottery funded films generating over £410 million at box offices.
  • Unlike most other good causes, film uses money generated from successfully-backed films such as Valiant, 28 Days Later and Bride and Prejudice to reinvest in the industry.
  • Lottery funded films such as Gosford Park, The Magdalene Sisters;, Bend it Like Beckham, Touching the Void, Wasp, Vera Drake and The Constant Gardener have received strong national and international recognition through film festivals and international awards including Oscars®, Golden Globes, BAFTAs, BIFAs, etc.

Encouraging a wider participation in the industry:

  • Through the ground-breaking First Light programme 9,000 children and young people have made over 600 short films.
  • Achieved cross-industry commitment to an Equalities Charter for Film that promotes equal opportunities good practice and tackles issues of access, training and representation, both behind the camera and on-screen supported by practical tools and information to help the sector raise its game on diversity issues.
  • Lottery money has supported diverse films from filmmakers such as Don Letts and Rick Elgood for One Love; Amma Asante for A Way of Life; Sophie Fiennes for Hoover Street Revival; Leon Herbert for Emotional Backgammon and Metin Huseyin for Anita & Me. To date 17% of all short films funded are made by minority ethnic filmmakers
  • Through the Regional Investment Fund for England (RIFE) and close partnership working in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, film and the moving image has hugely benefited local talent and communities.

Developing skills and talent:

  • Lottery funded films have launched new UK talent; Keira Knightley and Parminder Nagra (Bend it Like Beckham); Andrea Arnold (Wasp); Ashley Walters (The Bullet Boy); Julian Fellowes (Gosford Park) and Paul Greengrass (Bloody Sunday).
  • Since the launch of the skills and training strategy, The Bigger Future, more than 6,600 individuals have benefited from the most extensive training and skills programme supported by public money.
  • Skillset established six "Screen Academies" a series of centres of excellence in film in further and higher education established which offer vocational courses matched to industry needs.
  • Skillset offers consultancy to the individual companies to develop training programmes for their staff; have a team of careers advisors for new entrants and practitioners and www.skillset.org/film provides an invaluable one stop shop of information about the film industry.

FUTURE PLANS

  • Support the distribution, exhibition and production of distinctive films from a diverse range of sources, including increased money for the P&A Fund and a possible expansion of the DSN.
  • Provide wide-reaching access to collections of audiovisual material held in the UK's national and regional archives.
  • Provide opportunities to learn about, and engage with, film and the moving image in all its diversity, for example through film festivals and school film clubs.

And let's not forget that film is helping to supporting the British economy: In 2004, £807.9 million was spent in the UK on film production. The film and video industries now employ a record 57,429. And 1 in 5 tourists to the UK cited British film as an influence on their chosen destination.

All this work is at risk if you don't step up and make the case for film so please complete the questionnaire now.