UK's Reputation As Production Hub Under Threat Due To Lack Of Government Funding In BFI, Report Says
An increased workload coupled with a real-term decrease in government funding has reduced the British Film Institute's efficiency, threatening the UK's reputation as a filming destination, according to a new report.
The assessment was shared this morning in a lengthy report by the influential UK Culture, Media & Sport Committee (CMSC). Zeroing in on the BFI's structure and responsibilities, the report said the organization was tasked with taking on an expanded brief in 2011 following the closure of the UK Film Council.
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'Since then, the BFI's remit has continued to expand, now including video games and Extended Reality as well as film and HETV,' the report reads.
The report adds that the BFI's expanded responsibilities have not been supplemented by increased grant-in-aid or National Lottery funding. For the organization to be able to continue to 'offer financial support to those other parts of the screen industry,' the report concluded, its budget must be increased.
The full conclusion reads: 'Too often, the BFI's responsibilities have been expanded by the Government without a commensurate, long-term increase in the grant-in-aid support available to it. That has put the UK's reputation with inward investors at risk and could undermine the growth of the vital sectors under its remit.'
The report identifies key sections of the BFI, like the organization's Certification Unit, which are operating at a greatly reduced level of efficiency due to increased demand and a lack of funding.
'Since 2011, the number of tax incentives administered by the BFI Certification Unit has increased from one (film) to six (film, independent film, HETV, video games, animation, children's TV), with applications also increasing five-fold,' the report reads. 'However, that increased demand had not been reflected in an increase in grant-in-aid, resulting in a backlog of applications and an increase in turnaround times from 4–6 weeks to 18–20 weeks.'
The report states that certification delays are beginning to hit the UK's reputation as a production destination, citing evidence by Northern Ireland Screen, which said the delays were 'beginning to undermine [the UK's] reputation for stability and security.'
'There is a significant risk that studios will seek faster processes when considering where to make future productions, especially as other countries are making large investments in production infrastructure to attract inward investment,' the report reads.
In a statement to Deadline, Ben Roberts, BFI Chief Executive, welcomed the report as the first official look into the UK audiovisual sector in over 20 years.
'Many of the recommendations align directly with work that the BFI is delivering across a number of fronts including supporting access to finance for production, distribution and exhibition – including dedicated support for independent cinemas and UK distributors; international business development; growing the workforce and Good Work guidance; a soon to be published report on where the sector is working with generative AI,' Roberts said.
'We are happy to see the report note the success of the UK Global Screen Fund and the importance of our screen heritage and the role of the BFI National Archive. We await the response from Government and are ready to offer support where we are able to on ensuing priorities.'
Elsewhere in the report, the Committee officially recommended a 5% streamer levy to the government that it said should be enshrined into law if the industry fails to introduce it within a year.
Curiously, despite the observations laid out above, the report recommends that the levy revenue be funnelled into a new cultural fund administered by none other than the BFI to support domestic production.
The committee also called on the BFI to 'urgently conduct analysis' on changes to the high-end TV tax credit and, separately, to help develop an 'AI observatory and tech demonstrator hub.'
In a separate statement, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport, which administers a large portion the BFI's budget, said: 'We acknowledge the challenges facing our brilliant film and TV industry and are working with it through our Industrial Strategy to consider what more needs to be done to unlock growth and develop the skills pipeline. We thank the Committee for its report, which we will respond to in due course.'
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