The British film industry: blog tasks

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

Being in touch with what people are familiar with, being relevant but funny.

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?

Hollywood production is the most backed up since Hollywood films are the most famous, so they end up having crazy budgets. Meanwhile in British film, producers/directors are less well known so the budget tends to be significantly less.

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

1962.

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

British film started to see a lot more sexual content, and in the 1980s the rise of videos and the ‘video nasty’s scare where filmmaking was becoming more accessible and more extreme content was being created and finding its way to Britain. And so a continual evolution of film censorship and classification in this country has happened since the 1980s that sees all films released in the UK to have one of 7 (possibly 8 although the R18 certificate is rarely used) classifications awarded to it.

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

LGBTQ+

Low Income Families

Mid Income Families

High Income Families

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

The main characteristics that can be identified as appealing to a native British audience would include; the actors, British actors tend to be clearly identifiable as British and will often be associated with a particular genre of British film, for example Hugh Grant having an association with British romantic comedies.

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?

If a film does not qualify as a co-production, it must pass the British Film Institute’s Cultural Test in order to be defined as British. The Cultural Test is divided into four sections and a film must score at least 16 out of a possible 31 points to be classified as British.

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet - choose three of the films listed and research them to work out what they score on the cultural test: The Sweeney (2012), Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?

The British film industry has been production led rather than distribution led. This means that many UK films are made but, in order to get the film exhibited, the filmmakers have to sacrifice the distribution rights by selling the film to a distribution company. Once sold, all revenue from cinema screenings, DVD and Blu-ray sales, plus sales to television companies, are lost.

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

1. outstanding creative skills of practitioners

2. outstanding facilities

3. the Film Fund

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

Firstly, British filmmakers could choose to rely upon co-productions with American studios to keep the industry afloat. The UK film industry’s second option is to attempt to make low budget films targeted at a niche, British audience.

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?

I feel like the second option would be the best as its more true to what British Film is. Relying on American Studios makes it collaborative rather than British and the film ends up losing its raw and authentic feel.