Putting UK film on the global stage
Taking the best of British film culture and talent around the world
- We've worked public investment hard, backing more than 900 films (shorts and features) which have entertained more than 200 million people and generated approximately £700 million at the box office worldwide, taking the best of British film culture and talent around the world;
- £74 million earned from our National Lottery investments has been reinvested to make new British films, provide people with more opportunities to gain the skills to work in film, and give audiences across the UK better access to more films;
- We've supported new and established filmmakers who have achieved critical success at international film awards including the Oscars® and BAFTAs and at premiere festivals including Cannes, Berlin and Sundance;
- UK Film Council-backed films include Bend it like Beckham, The Constant Gardener, Gosford Park, Happy-Go-Lucky, Man on Wire, Red Road, This is England, Touching the Void, Vera Drake and The Wind that Shakes the Barley;
- We've launched the international film careers of some of the mostly highly regarded British film directors working today: Paul Greengrass (Bourne films and United 93); Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland and State of Play); Andrea Arnold (Red Road and Fish Tank); James Marsh (Man on Wire);
- We've created a new public funding landscape, setting up new funds which have supported critically and commercially successful films. To date our films have won 300 awards and a further 400 nominations;
- We've helped talent from visual arts, theatre and television progress into filmmaking, bringing new perspectives, ideas and creativity in story-telling. We've funded and are working with well-known artists such as Gillian Wearing and Sam Taylor-Wood, experimental filmmakers such as Sally Potter, John Maybury and Peter Greenaway, and award-winning playwrights such as Enda Walsh, Laura Wade and Bola Agbaje;
- We've raised the international profile and image of Britain through funding initiatives which showcase British innovation, talent and expertise at internationally important events such as the Cannes Film Festival, Berlin Film Festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Dinard Festival of British Film. This work also helped UK film exports reach a record £1.3 billion in 2009;
- We've built new partnerships and co-production treaties with India, Jamaica, South Africa and Morocco, allowing British filmmakers to find new stories and make films which reflect our shared histories.
