This book provides an empirically grounded analysis of the rise and unexpected fall of the UK Film Council, the key strategic body responsible for supporting film in the UK for over a decade. It provides a probing analysis of the tensions in a transnational film industry and how both US and EU interests and pressures have played themselves out.
'Far more than a study of one British institution, this book is a major contribution to studies of film policy, and indeed cultural policy more generally. Its analysis of tensions between creative and commercial rationales is revealing and extremely insightful.' David Hesmondhalgh, University of Leeds The UK Film Council was responsible for supporting film in the UK for over a decade. What objectives did it pursue over time? How effective was the UKFC as a model of public support for film? And what lessons for strategic interventions in film policy can be drawn from its experience? As well as offering a critical overview of the political, policy and technological contexts which framed the organisation's creation, existence and eventual demise, The Rise and Fall of the UK Film Council analyses the tensions between differing sectoral, commercial and cultural agendas, and between national and global interests in an increasingly transnational film industry. Drawing on interviews with leading film executives, politicians and industry stakeholders, including all of the UKFC's chairs and its CEO, this book provides a probing and grounded analysis of its rise and unexpected fall. Gillian Doyle is Professor of Media Economics and Director of the Centre for Cultural Policy Research at the University of Glasgow, where Philip Schlesinger is Professor in Cultural Policy and Raymond Boyle is Professor of Communications. Lisa W. Kelly is Lecturer in Television Studies at the University of Glasgow.
