Government to close UK Film Council

In what could prove to be a crushing blow to the British film industry, culture secretary Jeremy Hunt has today announced the government's intention to abolish the UK Film Council in a move first reported by Deadline London.

The decision - which according to John Woodward, CEO of the Film Council, "has been imposed with no notice and no consultation" - comes as part of the government's cost-cutting measures to tackle the current financial crisis. According to a press release issued today by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, the intention is to establish "a direct and less bureaucratic relationship with the British Film Institute", while continuing to support British film through government and Lottery funding. It intends to transfer all duties and fully close the organisation by April 2012.

The UK Film Council was set up by New Labour in 2000 to develop and promote the UK film industry. Its three main intiatives - The Development Fund, New Cinema Fund and Premiere Fund - have helped to finance a range of projects including Adulthood (2008, dir. Noel Clarke), Bright Star (2009 dir. Jane Campion), Dorian Gray (2009, dir. Oliver Parker), Fish Tank (2009, dir. Andrea Arnold), Happy-Go-Lucky (2008, dir. Mike Leigh), In The Loop (2009, dir. Armando Iannucci), London to Brighton (2006, dir. Paul Andrew Williams), Nowhere Boy (2009, dir. Sam Taylor Wood) and acclaimed documentaries Man on Wire (2008, dir. James Marsh) and Touching the Void (2003, dir. Kevin Macdonald).

In addition to financing productions, the Council also had the responsibility of funding Skillset (the Sector Skills Council for UK creative media industries), the First Light Movies digital filmmaking scheme and FILMCLUB, which aimed to promote the world of film within UK schools.

"Abolishing the most successful film support organisation the UK has ever had is a bad decision, imposed without any consultation or evaluation," said Tim Bevan, Chairman of the Film Council. "People will rightly look back on today's announcement and say it was a big mistake, driven by short-term thinking and political expediency. British film, which is one of the UK's more successful growth industries, deserves better."

Amen to that.