Revised film tax breaks: The industry reacts (2)
by Annika Pham
Although the same number of points have to be obtained (16 out of a total of 31), the cultural criteria (UK setting, actors, subject matter, language) are now essential for a film to be eligible for support, a point imposed by the EC to make sure state aid is directed towards a cultural product.
The other controversial new element is “Cultural Contribution”, a vague notion referring to a film’s contribution to the “promotion, development and enhancement of British Culture”.
“How could a cultural commissar be responsible for defining whether a film contributes to the promotion, development and enhancement of British culture?” asks producer Mike Downey (F&ME). “It’s a bit like the Earl of Southampton telling Shakespeare he is withdrawing his patronage because Romeo and Juliet is about Italians and set in Verona…”
Michael Kuhn adds: “What is worrying is that some person at the DCMS [UK Department of Culture Media and Sport] we’ve never heard of is going to determine if a film qualifies as British based on a point system, which has nothing to do with the qualitative aspect of a film”.
Producer Matthew Justice (Lunar Films) sees the new rules in a more positive light: “For majority UK co-productions, it won’t be a problem”, he says. “A film like French hit The Russian Dolls [+see also:
trailer
film profile] (which he co-produced) would also qualify, and so would Casino Royale and Harry Potter. For others making minority UK co-productions using one UK cast member and UK sound facilities, the new Cultural Test will be very penalising, but frankly, good riddance!”
For Justice and many other UK independent producers, it is now time to move on – to another aspect of the film tax scheme that wasn’t mentioned in the text approved by the EC but still needs to be tackled: the fact that UK cast and crew shooting overseas are not eligible for support. This is another key issue that PACT took the opportunity to raise in its official comment on the EC’s approval of the new Cultural Test, now at the heart of a new lobbying campaign.
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