Contemporary UK Film Policy in a Historical Context

The UK film industry is in prosperity as well as in crisis. At this crossroads, film policymaking matters, as it aims to identify the key challenges facing the film industry and to develop solutions that might re-orientate the development of the industry. This thesis aims to bring to light the key aspects of contemporary UK film policymaking and examine how they were developed in a historical context. The thesis first examines the key film policies from 1909 to 2010. Arching over the historical development of film policies, the first two chapters define the dimensions of UK film policy and focus on the economic and socio-cultural issues they have sought to address. They also outline how historical developments have affected contemporary policymaking, including the impacts of two strategic film institutions: the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) and the now-abolished UK Film Council (UKFC). The subsequent four chapters explore contemporary film policymaking from 2010 to the present and discuss the role of film policies in shaping the contemporary film industry. First, the British Film Institute(BFI)’s new role as the lead body for the UK film industry is explained, against the backdrop of government policy. Subsequent chapters examine the BFI’s international strategies, including co-production, in the light of geo-political shifts, such as Brexit; and the government and the BFI’s interventions during the COVID-19 pandemic. Finally, this thesis analyses the BFI’s newly launched 10-year strategy, in the face of the challenges of the post-Brexit and post-pandemic era, and how the government and the BFI should develop policy as a tool to support the future film industry.