Alan Parker: British film needs more than money

From a speech by the chairman of the Film Council to the British Academy of Film and Television

I want to set out a vision of an industry that is a strong and confident player in an increasingly competitive world. An industry that evolves, and reflects, the new realities of today's global market. The United Kingdom film industry is not in need of quick fixes and band-aids if we are to succeed on the world stage. I contend that it needs nothing less than radical re-invention.

We need to abandon forever the "little England" vision of a UK industry comprised of small British film companies delivering parochial British films. That, I suspect, is what many people think of when they talk of a "sustainable" British film industry. Well, it's time for a reality check. That "British" film industry never existed, and in the brutal age of global capitalism, it never will.

I hasten to add that personally, as a film director, I am not standing before you to celebrate world capitalism. But as chairman of the Film Council, I have to point out its reality regarding our industry's future.

We need to stimulate the growth of an industry that embraces the international market. At the same time, we must maintain an environment that supports the production of British films of enduring cultural significance. It's not either/or. It's both. We must stop talking about the British film industry and start considering our film industries.

Also, now is the time, once and for all, to recognise that our industry's obsession with public funding for production is taking us nowhere.

We've had seven years of lottery subsidy, and five years of a production-focussed tax break. Neither has delivered the structural changes that we need in order to deliver the consistent performance and growth to prevent a crisis every five years.