Comment from ‘Save the British Film Industry’

Interesting feedback from Jonathan Stuart-Brown of Save the British Film Industry.com

“Thesis, anti-thesis, synthesis leads to a better arts set up in the UK and maximises the chance of creative talent being unleashed.

Assetion. Counter-assertion and challenge. Conclusion. Repeat the process. Free, fair, fearless debate.

It is NOT about the name of the quango or the quango office. It is all about the honesty, morality and patriotism of the person in the office and the aggregate group think.

The arts quango industry in the UK has been corrupt to a staggering level for decades but not scrutinised by the real police, the media or nominal watchdogs (often big recipients of public money from those who they were meant to police).

People in The Arts industry do steal, cover up, embezzle, fiddle expenses in a way which an MP would blush, have side companies alongside public money administration jobs where A gives public money to B who gives public money to A.

Literally hundreds of millions have just been stolen or misappropriated…and no consequences as it is “art”.

The more the quangos and level of bureaucracies, the harder it is for anyone without a huge attention span and zeal for research to follow. The less scrutiny, the fewer consequences, the greater the corruption.

The Department of Culture is lazy, inept, clueless. Truly imbecilic. Gone are the days top intellects, hard workers and well informed wise people worked in The Department.

The Select Committee could – sadly – put on a farce at The West End without any script other than the evident lack of knowledge, insight, research they display in every Committee hearing.

People lie to them without challenge or consequence.

The media takes no notice as it is only mysterious art…and too complicated or boring to follow the money.

Far far far too much depends on personal honesty and integrity in arts quangos from people who learned very bad habits from the others in the industry who do not administer public monies with a straight bat.

Private monies, private patronage…do what you want.

Public monies…administer with great honesty and do not use to self-enrich to enrich family, friends, your own in club.

The only way to achieve the latter in an ever dishonest industry is to ring the changes every two years with people who have handed out public money in arts then prevented from doing so again for five years. It stops the cliques forming.

We could even hand out all public monies via libraries and Youtube pitches with each library volounteer team voting YES or NO. This guarantees wide BIG SOCIETY participation. Not corrupt deals in the dark.

The film industry only exists in the south-east because there are sound stages (the thing which really bring in the billions in inward investment) in west London and part of North London. 300 acres controls the inward investment and a small in club cabal actively lobbies to stop sound stages being built on the literally 200 000 plus acres in the regions which people can not give away. These could become state of the art sets such as sci-fi, pyramids, ancient Rome, Paris, Venice, Amsterdam, New York, Moscow, North Pole, Beijing, medieval castle, jungle etc. These can double as tourist theme parks.

We could have a regular 250 000 people employed in the film industry across the UK and £25 billion a year annual turnover.

However a small cabal wants to prevent it – and the power shift from west London – and regardless of what quango is in power, the cabal is always pulling the strings to stop sound stages being built around the UK.

When sound stages are built around the UK, so the film industry will spread around and lead all private investment in arts, music, culture. But the very quangos set up to achieve it have been staffed by people trying to prevent it.

London would gain in absolute terms but LOSE in relative terms as other regions rose and closed the gap.

Instead of grabbing this point, Jeremy Hunt and David Cameron prefer to build a needless train set for £30 billion which they can not play with until 2025.

It is not cuts…as some cuts cut out corruption and cancer, they remove articles.

It is personal morality, true UK wide participation and ethos, and breaking up the in-clubs.

The public monies should be spent on physical infrastructure which attracts inward investment…sound stages and sets around the UK.

But as The Government is truly clueless on this, THEN it is time to pray and pray hard. It will take a miracle.

http://www.savethebritishfilmindustry.com/2010/12/high-time-to-earnestly-seek-divine-help-if-we-want-a-real-uk-wide-british-film-industry-employing-250-000-people-and-25-billion-a-year-for-chancellor-george-osborne/“

Colin Firth on UKFC and BFI

Colin Firth attended the Dubai International Film Festival last week for the Middle East premiere of his latest film, The King’s Speech. The Oscar-nominated actor also received Variety’s ‘International Star of the Year’ award, presented by Carey Mulligan, and candidly answered questions during a public Q&A session.

Arts & Cuts was at the event and asked the British A-lister whether he was worried about the closure of the UK Film Council and the BFI’s recently expanded role.

“I don’t understand how it’s going to work well enough to be worried or not worried at the moment. I just need to see where it’s going. Yes of course I was alarmed when the UK Film Council announced it would be closed. They were critical in the financing of The King’s Speech, which I think makes a rather good case for the existence of a body like that. It was clear that something would have to replace it…and the BFI may have the people to do that.

I think that…the individuals who work within the BFI…I think they’re fiercely bright people who care deeply about film. And so I am glad that the government has decided to connect itself to a body which does understand cinema. But I also don’t know where it’s going, I don’t know where the money is going to come from, but as I said, you know, I hope imaginative resources are as powerful as financial ones.”

The spirit of resistance

As thousands of students descend on Parliament Square today to protest against tuition fee rises, many have also been staging sit-ins at universities and organising flash mobs across the city.

Last weekend, students at Goldsmiths College and UCL’s Slade School of Fine Art occupied campus buildings to demonstrate their anger at proposals they say will threaten the future of arts education in the UK. Colourful banners and flags were hung outside while lively debates continued indoors.

Perhaps the most visible activity to date was the picketing at the Tate Britain Gallery during the Turner Prize ceremony, where hundreds assembled to vent their frustration with the government’s attitude towards the arts funding.

On Tuesday, Arts & Cuts went to Royal College of Art’s Long Night to talk to students and teachers about their feelings and plans. Throughout the evening, people squeezed into the common room to participate in discussions and sign a petition addressed to Nick Clegg.

Conceptual artist Mark McGowan spoke first and offered his support. “This level of culture bashing is equivalent to book burning,” he said. An RCA lecturer agreed, “[This is] the most vicious ideological attack. It’s a system where you’re artistic only if you can afford it”.

Despite the sombre mood, people were hopeful that there would be strength in numbers. Organisers of the Slade Occupation shared advice (“students are the first wave, not the last”) and the duo behind Space Hijackers humorously recounted their adventures, including driving a tank into central London for the G20 summit.

Three students from Chelsea College of Art & Design explained how the movement was gaining momentum. They felt that art schools in the capital were quite fragmented, especially within the University of Arts London, but were noticing a growing sense of unity.

Noel Douglas, a professional graphic designer and programme leader at the University of Bedfordshire, gave a presentation on the history of grass-roots campaigns and encouraged students to be optimistic about the future. He told us why he believes art and design are fundamental to society:

At 11pm, students of the Royal College of Art voted in favour of occupation.

RCA – The Long Night

Students, lecturers and artists gathered at the Royal College of Art on Tuesday 7th Dec to vote on a sit-in:

The financial value of art

Last week two Andy Warhol pieces sold for a total price of $98.7 million (£61.7 million). While the figures may be staggering, this is actually part of a larger trend in the art market.

According to a recent survey by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the financial value of art and antiques has risen significantly over the past 12 months. Due to ongoing economic uncertainties, art is proving to be a popular alternative investment. In fact, the growth in demand has not been caused exclusively by the fabulously wealthy or global corporations; more and more people are exploring galleries, fairs and exhibitions in the hope of finding work by up-and-coming artists.

Sarah Ryan, founder of New Blood Art, has noticed these changes but doubts that funding cuts will negatively affect her clients:

Demise of the UK Film Council

In July this year, Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt announced that the UK Film Council would be abolished by 2012.

Set up in 2000 by the Labour government, the organisation serves to develop and support the British film industry. Its primary activity is the distribution of Lottery money to various projects, ranging from animation features to documentaries.

Over the last 10 years, it has financially backed more than 900 productions, which include commercial hits (Bend It Like Beckham, Notting Hill, Slumdog Millionaire), critics’ favourites (The Last King of Scotland, Gosford Park, The Constant Gardner), experimental films (Hunger, Fish Tank), and huge flops (Sex Lives of Potato Men, Cheri).

In addition, the Council funds:

• Advertising and marketing strategies of niche and mainstream films
• Education and training programmes, such as seminars and exhibitions
• Distribution and export schemes in order to screen independent foreign titles in the UK and promote British films overseas
• Improvements to cinema technology (digital picture and sound) and building refurbishments
• Regional societies and venues across the country

James McAvoy, Emily Blunt, Clint Eastwood, Colin Firth and Tim Bevan are just some of the high-profile personalities who have slammed the government’s actions. They claim this closure will be detrimental to the progress of home grown talent since British actors, producers, directors and writers often struggle to compete with their American counterparts.

However, the UK Film Council is not without its critics. Many are in favour of change, arguing the quango had become too bureaucratic and less transparent about the selection process. It was also revealed that eight senior staff received salaries in excess of £100 000 in 2009, giving the impression of civil servants behaving like Hollywood executives.

There is no doubt that filmmaking is an essential sector of the British economy, but the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) remains vague about the future.

Hello

Hi!

We’re Reem, Sara and Tom – MA International Journalism students at City University London.

Over the next nine months, we will be reporting on the effects of the arts funding cuts across the capital.

Please get in touch if you have any stories, information, feedback etc.

Thanks.