Harry Potter and the Great Funding Gap
By Becky Parry
The Showcomotion Conference brought together several perspectives on providing the best for British kids. In a session which discussed the lack of independent film-making in this country for young people (there are films for adults produced with UK Film Council money, but surprise, surprise, no films made specifically for children or families) speakers from Germany, Holland and Sweden outlined how their markets and funders support children’s film. The UK has a great history of providing some of the best children’s film production in the world – but on Hollywood-funded films, the profit for which return to the USA (e.g. the Harry Potter series). And the UKFC supports this type of production. But no independent small scale UK films are made, whereas other territories, through public support, have created at least the beginnings of a vibrant children’s film sector (and in the case of Sweden – a highly productive one). UK producers discussed the problems they face in getting projects off the ground and in finding distribution for them.
It’s significant that BBC Films has never made a children’s title, nor has Film Four, and the UK film Council were “unable” to send a representative to join the discussion. This lack of interest seems once again to be an indicator of the attitude to children and culture in the UK -that the market must rule, that there’s plenty of U.S. content, and that adults are far more important.
As producer of the session, I’m producing a brief report which highlights the key issues raised, to stimulate debate about how to strengthen the children’s film industry in the UK. It will be sent to the UKFC for their comments.
Anyone keen to receive the report or contribute their ideas or experiences to it is invited to contact me at beckyparry.email@btinternet.com
