Rampant copyright theft makes it harder and harder to finance films and yet the UK production community has produced some of its best films in years. An industry panel discussed the paradox. Christopher Barrett reports.

 A panel of top UK production talent at the Industry Trust for IP Awareness annual general meeting called for immediate and effective action to wipe out IP theft in order to sustain the lifeblood of a creative community that punches above it’s weight despite the odds.

Film director Oliver Parker (“An Ideal Husband”, “St. Trinian’s”) said there has never been a more appropriate time to protect copyright and fight to sustain film finances.

“The production industry keeps reshaping itself, which is pretty impressive. There is a culture of new filmmakers coming through that are much better at adjusting to an environment that is really tough,” he said.

Parker noted that most of the films he has made were in the small to medium bracket — £3 million to £10 million — but it has become almost impossible to make a film at that level: “There are so few places to go to get the money at the moment. It has always been a fragile ecology but it is very hard now to put your budget together.”

His most recent film, “Johnny English Reborn”, was the first in a long time on which there were no deferrals. “Often, we have had to guarantee a film personally to make it happen. There have been films where if they went over the budget we were personally liable, and that happens quite frequently now,” the filmmaker said.

Hair and make-up designer Nadia Stacey, (“Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows: Part 2”, “Tyrannosaur”) said that the pressure on budgets caused by film piracy has led to a culture of what she termed “passion pictures” – films made by a crew who worked for next to nothing because they believed in the project. As a result, it had become very difficult to provide opportunities for the next generation of filmmakers.

The impact of IP theft meant that fewer films were made and production companies went out of business, Stacey said: “It means fewer opportunities for me, and this is my job: it pays the bills. I get emails from new talent constantly but there is not enough money in the budgets to get these new people through. There is so much talent out there and we can’t give them a chance.”

Producer Nik Powell (“The Crying Game”, “Ladies In Lavender”), who also co-founded the Virgin Group and Virgin Records, said he was concerned about the impact copyright theft will have on students that graduate from the National Film and TV School, where he is Director.

“None of our lives is possible without copyright. At the school, we train and educate 100 people a year to enter the wider audiovisual industry and their livelihoods and futures are all dependent on some form of copyright,” said Powell.

He said that to win the wider public’s support for copyright issues will require a more balanced approach than earnest PR messages and stern regulations.

He cited as an example of entirely the wrong approach a hospice that was told it needed a licence to play DVDs to its dying patients and that licences granted to his students often were not helpful.

“Copyright holders do not always do themselves favours in PR terms when they try to enforce something. For example, from time to time on our graduation films there is a need for a licence and when they ring up to get one they are offered a one-year licence. Neither students nor film schools have the administration capabilities to renew licences across their films every year, but you try to get someone to change that. Why not give it for life of copyright and go after much more valuable cash?” said Powell.

All three panellists endorsed education as a key way to change how consumers regard copyright. Stacey praised the work of the Industry Trust and the impact of its “Moments Worth Paying For” campaign: “It is vital to engage an audience in what we are doing and make them realise the part they have to play. It makes a massive difference to what I am doing. If you can engage people that are interested in films and make them realise how challenging it is to make a film and that there is not money sloshing around the industry then it will make a real difference.”

Despite the challenges presented by the ongoing problem of copyright theft, Powell said there was plenty of room for optimism. Great films are being made, distribution costs have come down due to digital filmmaking and distribution, and film producers who look hard enough can still obtain financing, he said.

When he entered the business in the early ’80s there were 24 British films made each year and now the average is 85, the producer said: “Compared to the early ’80s, the industry is in fantastic shape. We have fantastic cinemas. It is getting cheaper and cheaper to distribute to those cinemas. It looks at last like DVD will get replaced by Video On Demand and there is a ton of cash in the business.”

Powell noted that the British Film Institute’s production fund is about 10 times more than it was 30 years ago and countries such as Germany and France, and even cash-strapped Italy and Spain, have substantial funds available to put into filmmaking.

He said, “If you wheel and deal you can access it. In terms of cash flow and box office, given that the world is in economic distress the film industry isn’t in such a bad place.”[/private