Published: 29 July 2010
by DAN CARRIER

I HAD always thought “slash and burn” was a type of agricultural clearance system, used to give farmers more land. But with the announcement of the scrapping of the UK Film Council this week, it also seems to be a form of government policy. At least when farmers do it they have a crop they want to plant – as far as I can make out, the philistines in the Tory and Lib Dems have no seeds at the ready to replace the body that helped movie-makers over here. 

Sometimes when I used to see the UKFC logo at the start of a film, I’d groan inwardly. But this doesn’t matter, for two reasons: firstly, the balance of payments the British film industry brings in far, far outweighs the cost of funding it, which mostly came from the National Lottery. 

The second worry is that we’re going to be consumed by American studios. Sharing a language with Hollywood has had advantages over the years. But there are negatives, too. Our multiplexes want American guff that will be backed by huge advertising and promotions, thus bringing bums on seats, regardless of the quality on offer. With our own homegrown films under increasing pressure due to this short-sighted decision, I’m afraid you may just have a diet of Hollywood shmaltz to look forward to. The only other voice offered will be from our brave Continental cousins who want to keep their country’s film industries going, and are happy to pay for it, unlike the UK.