PRODUCING IN THE UK


funding functions into the British Film Institute (BFI), spinning the already beleaguered independ- ent production community into months of uncer- tainty. British sound stages may have been full with movies from Marvel, Spielberg, Scorsese, Fox and Warner Bros but independent producers were struggling to raise money as the traditional financ- ing model virtually fell to pieces overnight. It has probably never been tougher to mount an


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independent film in the UK. Ironically, 2010 was a strong year for UK independents. StreetDance 3D, Kick-Ass, Four Lions, Monsters and Made In Dagen- ham did good business at the local box office. Another Year and Tamara Drewe were the talk of Cannes, The King’s Speech exploded out of Toronto as the year’s slamdunk Oscar contender, and Sub-


t has been a tumultuous year for British film production. A new government chose to abolish the UK Film Council and integrate Lottery


marine, The Trip and The First Grader scored healthy US deals. And there is room for optimism. Film4 raised its


budget from $15.8m to $23.6m (£10m to £15m), the government said Lottery funding for film would rise from $42.5m to $67.8m (£27m to £43m) by 2014, the BFI said development and production funding would go up from $23.6m to $28.4m (£15m to £18m) in the next year and Stu- dioCanal made an aggressive commitment to UK film with a dedicated production programme through its Optimum Releasing subsidiary. In mid-November, Screen assembled seven of the


UK’s most talented independent producers for a roundtable discussion at the House of St Barnabas in London’s Soho. The meeting, which we hope to make an annual event, embraced both the chal- lenges and the opportunities of this uniquely posi- tioned market. The conversation made it clear that


to succeed in today’s climate, a UK producer has to wear many hats — creative mind, talent magnet, entrepreneur, hustler and financier among them. Meanwhile our Brit 50 profiles the 50 top pro-


duction outfits operating in the UK. The notion was to take a snapshot of UK production as it heads out of the turbulence of 2010 and hopefully into a more stable 2011. It is a picture of richness, tenacity and diversity in both business models and content. Enjoy the read.


Mike Goodridge, editor


Pictured, left to right: Andrew Eaton, Stephen Woolley, Alison Owen, Robin Gutch, Jeremy Thomas, Damian Jones, Nira Park. Venue: Quintessentially Soho at the House of St


Barnabas. Profiles by Wendy Mitchell, Sarah Cooper, Andreas Wiseman, Leon Forde and Mike Goodridge. Photography by Peter Searle.


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