British Film Institute: Children’s Film Funding

Viscount Falkland Excerpts

Monday 14th February 2011 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Rawlings]

Yes, my Lords, “The King’s Speech” did fantastically well. Actually it had lottery money as well as UK Film Council money. The BFI and UKFC are now working together on due diligence procedures and will publish a detailed transfer plan shortly. That plan will provide a clear timetable, setting out which functions are moving across and when.

[Viscount Falkland]

My Lords, I declare an interest: my wife is the director of an international film sales company. My noble friend Lady Benjamin has introduced an important and interesting component to our film scene, that of children’s film. However, it seems to me that the answers of the Minister have been rather pointed towards what I would call British acceptance of children’s films. Of course, children’s films are hugely popular around the world and we are very good at making them. We saw our talent last night: it is there waiting to make films for children, which should be sold on a proper strategy. Is it not the case that you create an industry by creating a relationship of sales to foreign film distributors so that they are always watching you and will always buy your films? They are always pre-sold, so you build up trust.

[Baroness Rawlings]

My noble friend Lord Falkland is absolutely right. In addition to the films especially made for children, government support to a number of film activities focused on children and young people helps especially abroad.