CHRIS SMITH ANNOUNCES NEW £1.5 MILLION FILM SKILLS FUND

Training programme will develop talent needed for future success

In May 1999, Culture Secretary Chris Smith announced a ground breaking new partnership between Government and the film industry, which is expected to give a £ 1.5 million per year boost to UK film production training.

The introduction of a Skills Investment Fund (SIF) was a key recommendation in A Bigger Picture, the report into the film industry published by the Government last year. The Fund will be paid for by voluntary industry contributions from film production budgets. The Skills Investment Fund, which is expected to begin operation in September this year, will finance training in camera and sound work, editing and production, artwork and set design and other cinematic skills, in London and across the UK. The project has already attracted commitments of support from PACT (the Producers Alliance for Cinema and Television), the major broadcasters, the American studios and BECTU (Broadcasting, Entertainment, Cinematograph and Theatre Union).

(PICTURE FROM BECTU JOURNAL)

Announcing the Skills Investment Fund Mr. Smith said:

"As recent Academy Awards successes have shown, the UK has a formidable array of film making talent. We need to build on those skills if we are to increase the number of successful movies we produce and continue to develop our industry. "This new fund represents a significant investment in the future of Britain’s film- making talent. As the number of big budget productions which already come to the UK demonstrates, Britain has an impressive skills base in film production, and this fund will help to attract even more productions to the UK."

"The Government intends to do all it can to ensure that the film industry is able to build on its past and present triumphs, and to deliver many more cinematic successes in the future."

Mr. Smith went on to praise the achievements of the joint Government-film industry Action Committee and looked forward to the establishment of the new unitary Film Council next year. "The establishment of the Skills Investment Fund is one of many initiatives implemented by the Action Committee following last year’s Film Policy Review. The success of the Committee’s work shows what can be achieved when Government and industry work together, and the ambitious programme now in place will help build a stronger, more stable film industry in the UK.

"There is more to be done - for example, to improve the development and distribution of British films - and we must continue to work together to ensure that the industry achieves its full potential. "The new Film Council will play a leading rote in taking forward this agenda, delivering for the first time an integrated strategy for film culture and the film industry. The Council will come into operation by April 2000 and will help film to punch its weight inside Government and out by giving it a strong unified voice."

THE BIGGER PICTURE REPORT

A Bigger Picture, the report of the Film Review Group set up by Chris Smith, was published in March 1998 contained recommendations aimed at improving the British film industry’s performance over the next decade. The Group was expanded into an Action Committee, charged with taking forward the recommendations. Both groups were co-chaired by the DCMS Films Minister (Tom Clarke then Janet Anderson) and Stewart Till, President of International, Polygram Filmed Entertainment. The Action Committee finished its work in April of this year, with the vast majority of the Review’s recommendations either in place or well on the way. In December 1998 Mr. Smith announced, following public consultation, his intention to establish by April 2000 a new body to pursue cultural and industrial objectives for film, including responsibility for grant-in-aid and distribution of National Lottery funds.

The Skills Investment Fund will help fund the new training provision set out in a new training strategy for the film industry. Its first priorities will be new entrant training in the craft and technical grades, training for production accountants, health and safety and NVQ delivery and assessment. Contributions will be set at 0.5% of production budgets up to a cap of £39,500. Participation in the Fund will be a condition of access to public funding for production disbursed through the Film Council.

The Skills Investment Fund will be administered by Skillset, the National Training Organisation for the Broadcast, Film, Video and Multimedia Industries.