Parker: Film industry needs 'radical reinvention'

Director and movie chief Alan Parker warned today that the British film industry needs “radical reinvention” to stop it “permanently hovering in the relegation zone”.

He said film-makers needed a “reality check” and overhaul of a system which saw small firms delivering “parochial British films”.

Parker – who chairs the UK Film Council – unveiled a three point plan to revive UK movies in a speech to industry leaders.

He accused film companies of spending most of their cash on actually producing films for the past half century, rather than looking at distributing them to cinemas.

“Make no mistake international distribution is where the real money is made in the film industry,” he said.

In a speech at the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in London he said movie chiefs needed to:

* Improve distribution of homegrown films in the UK and abroad using tax incentives write-offs as an incentive;

* Have the world’s most skilled and highly trained film industry workforce, using cash from the Lottery, Government and movie firms;

* Strengthen the infrastructure by improving links with the United States and Europe and ensuring Britain has state of the art facilities.

Parker pointed out there had been notable successes with Gandhi, Trainspotting and Lock, Stock And Two Smoking Barrels in the past 20 years.

But the period had been dogged by a lack sustainable finance and distribution companies making sure the films that were made could actually be seen.

Distribution deals have long been the downfall of UK movies with many sitting on shelves for years on end and at best going straight to video.

In 1999 there were 101 UK films and by July of 2001, 27 still had no deal in place.

Last year there 83 films made, but staggeringly only 24 had been released by last month.

Parker suggested more thought had to be put into how movies would be seen and whether there was an appetite for them at the outset.

He said there should be an industry “production led by distribution, not the other way round – pull not push”.

Evita and Midnight Express director Sir Alan was also critical of UK broadcasters for failing to put more money into UK film.

He said the BBC invested less than 1% in UK feature film production, while ITV, Channel 5 and Sky accounted for even less.

But there had been great strides in encouraging inward investment by the Film council with more than £1bn (€1.56bn) coming into UK film from overseas, mainly the US.

Parker said: “We can never be the biggest film industry in the world, but we should be right up near the top of the league, not permanently hovering in the relegation zone.

“The UK film industry is not in need of quick fixes and band-aids if we are to succeed on the world stage. It needs nothing less than radical reinvention.

“We need to abandon forever the ‘little England’ vision of a UK industry comprised of small British film companies delivering parochial British films.

“That, I suspect, is what many people think of when they talk of a ‘sustainable’ British film industry.

“Well, it’s time for a reality check. That ‘British’ film industry never existed, and in the brutal age of global capitalism, it never will.”

He told figures from the movie world and also Government departments, who were in the audience: “We need distribution-led companies to carve out a British share of the 60 billion dollars world market and “we can’t do this simply by staying at home”.

He added: “We need cinemas in the UK and abroad to show not just American blockbusters, but films made in the UK with stories for and about ourselves.”