The British Film Institute’s newly installed chief executive, Ben Roberts, has said one “silver lining” of COVID-19’s devastating impact on the U.K. film industry is a “radical rethink” for the fin…
, has said one “silver lining” of COVID-19’s devastating impact on the U.K. film industry is a “radical rethink” for the financing and distribution prototypes surrounding independent film, which are now operating on a more equal playing field online.
However, as more films look to digital premieres out of sheer necessity during lockdown, Roberts — who took over following the 17-year run of chief executive Amanda Nevill — predicts this normalization will set a blueprint for a sustainable model post-“There were already disruptors in the sector, but they were seen as outliers doing something different, whereas now, we are absolutely seeing that all bets are off,” says Roberts, who joined the BFI in early March, two weeks before the U.K.
“This feels like a sea-change moment” for independent film, Roberts explains, “because it’s all about how you build and invest in stability. How do you make a sector financially viable, so that it attracts more money beyond public investment?” “In consultation with producers, studios, streamers, unions and industry bodies, we have set up ‘task and finish’ groups focused on specific elements,” Wootton tells“This includes developing production protocols for a new code of best practice, scalable across the entire U.K. film and TV industry. We are currently formulating proposals to feed into government to ensure that our industry is ready to get back to work as soon as it is safe to do so.
The BFI’s response in the interim has involved a vast repurposing of around $5.7 million in National Lottery funding to target areas of need — such as the freelance workforce and the exhibition sector — as well as adjusting criteria on existing funding schemes, such as its $3.1 million Development Fund, to respond to those with more pressing needs for cash-flow and overhead.
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