The UK Film Council: A Case Study of Film Policy in Transition

“电影很重要。它很重要，因为它既是创意经济的强大引擎，也是一种接触到大量观众并影响生活的文化表达形式。然而，如果没有一套结构良好的政府干预措施，英国电影业就无法开始发挥其潜力。英国电影委员会的成立就是为了提供[此类]干预的框架[S]”，英国肯德基首席执行官约翰·伍德沃德(UKFC，2004：4)。英国肯德基成立于2000年4月，但于2011年3月底结束，十多年来一直是负责支持英国电影产业和电影文化的关键战略机构。该委员会由工党政府(1997-2010)设立，任务是建立一个“可持续”的电影业，委员会的议程在其一生中不断变化和扩大，反映了关于公众支持电影的根本目的的不同期望。尽管它提供的支持模式确保了为一系列电影提供资金，并被一些人视为有效，但英国肯德基最初被赋予的更雄心勃勃的目标--让英国电影制作行业可持续发展和确保全球发行地位--未能实现。在2010年5月上台仅几个月后，新联合政府宣布了一项总体成本削减战略，其中一部分是废除UKFC，并将其职责重新分配给BFI。英国肯德基作为电影的主要支持机构的短暂经历，提出了一个根本性的问题：21世纪的电影战略干预可能会如何制定和实施。虽然早期的研究涉及英国的电影和电影政策的历史(Dickinson&Street 1985；Hill 2004；Murphy 2009；Richards 2009：Sargeant 2005；Street 2009)，但还没有人开发具体的案例研究来仔细审查公共电影支持机构如何从制度和组织上理解和实施政策。这项拟议的研究集中于英国肯德基从成立到灭亡的历史，为这样的案例研究和深入调查21世纪公众支持电影模式不断变化的压力提供了一个特殊和及时的机会。该项目旨在调查英国肯德基的历史，检验其作为公众支持电影的典范的有效性，并分析其关闭对数字时代电影的政策影响。这项研究将考察英国肯德基追求的目标是如何以及为什么随着时间的推移而改变的；相互竞争的经济和文化目标是如何谈判的；英国肯德基在实现其目标方面的表现；议会在帮助英国电影业适应数字环境方面的作用；并询问从其整体经验中可以吸取哪些战略教训。主要的数据收集技术包括对文件和文本的评估、对二级统计数据的分析、档案研究以及与项目小组有信心取得良好接触的关键行为者的面谈。PI(Doyle)、Co-IS(Schlesinger And Boyle)和PDRA(Kelly)共同带来了媒体、创意和文化产业以及政策分析方面的多学科专业知识。综合信息系统的投入将主要集中在访谈、调查结果分析和传播方面，而私人投资和个人资料评估将在研究方案的所有阶段开展工作。参考文献：Dickinson&Street(1985)《电影与国家：电影工业与政府，1927-1984》，BFI.Hill(2004)《英国电影政策、文化资本与社会排斥》，《文化趋势》，第13页(2)。墨菲(2009)，英国电影书籍，BFI.Richards(2009)，英国最佳电影：电影和社会从1930年到现在，I.B.Tauris，Sargeant(2005)，英国电影：批评和解释历史，BFI.Street(2009)，英国国家电影2，Routledge.UKFC(2004)，我们的第二个三年计划：资金和政策重点2004-2007。

'Film matters. It matters because it is both a powerful engine of the creative economy, and a form of cultural expression which reaches huge audiences and influences lives. Yet without a well-structured set of interventions by Government, the UK film sector cannot begin to realise its potential. The UK Film Council was set up to provide a framework [for such] intervention[s]' John Woodward, CEO of UKFC (UKFC, 2004:4).Established in April 2000 but wound up at the end of March 2011, the UKFC was the key strategic body responsible for supporting the film industry and film culture in Britain for over a decade. Set up by the Labour Government (1997-2010) with a remit to build a 'sustainable' film industry, the Council's agenda shifted and broadened over its lifetime reflecting differing expectations in relation to the underlying purposes of public support for film. While the model of support it offered ensured the funding of a wide range of films and was viewed by some as effective, the more ambitious aims with which the UKFC was originally charged - of making the UK film production sector sustainable and of securing a global position in distribution - were not achieved. After only a few months of coming to power in May 2010, the new coalition Government announced a general cost-cutting strategy, part of which was the abolition of the UKFC and a reassignment of its responsibilities, mainly to the BFI. The UKFC's short-lived experience as lead support body for film raises fundamental questions about how strategic interventions for film in the 21st century may be framed and put into operation. While earlier research has addressed the history of film and film policy in the UK (Dickinson & Street 1985; Hill 2004; Murphy 2009; Richards 2009: Sargeant 2005; Street 2009), none has developed specific case studies that scrutinise how policy is understood and implemented institutionally and organisationally by public support bodies for film. The proposed research, focusing on the history of the UKFC from inception to demise, provides an exceptional and timely opportunity for such a case study and for in-depth investigation of the changing pressures on models of public support for film in the 21st century. The project sets out to investigate the history of the UKFC, to examine its effectiveness as a model of public support for film and also to analyse the policy implications of its closure for film in the digital era. The research will examine how and why the objectives pursued by the UKFC changed over time; how competing economic and cultural objectives were negotiated; the performance of the UKFC in fulfilling its objectives; the role of the Council in helping the UK film industry adjust to a digital environment; and ask what strategic lessons may be drawn from its overall experience. The principal data-gathering techniques include the assessment of documents and texts, analyses of secondary statistical data, archival research, and interviews with key actors to whom the project team are confident of achieving excellent access. The PI (Doyle), Co-Is (Schlesinger and Boyle) and PDRA (Kelly) collectively bring multi-disciplinary expertise in media, creative and cultural industries and policy analysis. Whereas the Co-Is' input will be focused mainly on interviews, analysis of findings and dissemination, the PI and PDRA will work on all phases of the research programme. Refs:Dickinson & Street (1985) Cinema and State: The Film Industry and the Government, 1927-1984, BFI.Hill (2004) 'UK Film Policy, Cultural Capital and Social Exclusion', Cultural Trends, 13(2). Murphy (2009), The British Cinema Book, BFI.Richards (2009), Best of British: Cinema and Society from 1930 to the Present, I.B. Tauris.Sargeant (2005), British Cinema: A Critical and Interpretive History, BFI.Street (2009), British National Cinema 2, Routledge.UKFC (2004), Our Second Three Year Plan: Funding and Policy Priorities 2004-2007.