Ed Vaizey promised last week to review children’s television funding, according to The Guardian website. There has been rising concern for a while that the current spending on new productions for Britain’s kids is inadequate, with around £50m a year less is being invested now compared with 2004.
ITV has “virtually withdrawn” from investing in new children’s content, whilst the BBC’s plan to increase CBBC and CBeebies spending by £10 million a year from 2013 has been deemed insufficient by some. To read the article, click here.
Monday, 14 June 2010
Friday, 11 June 2010
Directors UK announces new CEO
Directors UK is pleased to announce the appointment of Andrew Chowns as its new CEO. He will be joining Directors UK on 1st September 2010.
Andrew is currently Chief Operating Officer and Director of Business Affairs at PACT, the UK trade association representing and promoting the commercial interests of independent feature film, television, digital, children's and animation media companies. In his role as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Business Affairs, Andrew Chowns was responsible for overseeing the terms of trade with broadcasters, negotiations with unions and collecting societies and other major business affairs matters.
Andrew said of his appointment: “It is a great time to be joining Directors UK as it builds on its new position as the professional body for directors and as a major collecting society.
I want to help Directors UK and its members to play a leading role in the future of creative industries and to continue to work to improve the conditions and the influence of directors in the UK.”
Andrew replaces Suzan Dormer who has been CEO of both Directors UK and before it the Directors and Producers Rights Society (DPRS). Paul Unwin, Chair of the TV Fiction committee and Directors UK Board Member said of the outgoing CEO: “Over the last twenty years directors – both in TV and film – have had their position eroded. Suzan Dormer has often been a lone voice fighting for directors’ rights. First at DPRS and then at Directors UK she has been tireless and our thanks go out to her.”
For more on Andrew’s appointment, and to read comments from Chairman Charles Sturridge and President Paul Greengrass, click here. To read the Broadcast article, click here.
Andrew is currently Chief Operating Officer and Director of Business Affairs at PACT, the UK trade association representing and promoting the commercial interests of independent feature film, television, digital, children's and animation media companies. In his role as Chief Operating Officer and Director of Business Affairs, Andrew Chowns was responsible for overseeing the terms of trade with broadcasters, negotiations with unions and collecting societies and other major business affairs matters.
Andrew said of his appointment: “It is a great time to be joining Directors UK as it builds on its new position as the professional body for directors and as a major collecting society.
I want to help Directors UK and its members to play a leading role in the future of creative industries and to continue to work to improve the conditions and the influence of directors in the UK.”
Andrew replaces Suzan Dormer who has been CEO of both Directors UK and before it the Directors and Producers Rights Society (DPRS). Paul Unwin, Chair of the TV Fiction committee and Directors UK Board Member said of the outgoing CEO: “Over the last twenty years directors – both in TV and film – have had their position eroded. Suzan Dormer has often been a lone voice fighting for directors’ rights. First at DPRS and then at Directors UK she has been tireless and our thanks go out to her.”
For more on Andrew’s appointment, and to read comments from Chairman Charles Sturridge and President Paul Greengrass, click here. To read the Broadcast article, click here.
UK television dominates Rose d’Or once more
UK programmes have made a big impression on the Rose d’Or judges yet again, earning a staggering 48 nominations in total in the prestigious, global television awards.
The United Kingdom dominates across many of the categories, not least in Sitcom, where nine of the ten nominations are from here. Matt Lipsey’s Psychoville, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin’s Outnumbered: Christmas Special and BAFTA-winning The Inbetweeners, directed by Ben Palmer, are all in the running for the award.
The UK was similarly unstoppable in the Comedy category, with another nine nominations making that shortlist too. Facejacker, directed by Kayvan Novak and Ed Tracy, The Kevin Bishop Show, which had Dominic Brigstocke and Elliot Hegarty as its directors, and another recent BAFTA winner - The Armstrong and Miller Show, also directed by Dominic Brigstocke – are just some of the nominees.
There are seven programmes from the United Kingdom up for the Reality and Factual Entertainment award, including One Born Every Minute – another BAFTA winner, with direction from James House, Emma Tutty and Lisa Smith – and Coach Trip, directed by Keely van Dyke. The UK also has four nominations in Drama and Mini Series, with yet another BAFTA winner Misfits – which included Tom Harper, Tom Green and Amanda Harper as its directors – competing with the likes of Richard Laxton’s An Englishman in New York and Royal Wedding, by director James Griffiths.
Directors UK would like to congratulate all those who have been nominated for a Rose d’Or award. The award ceremony will be held at the Rose d'Or Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland, which runs from September 18 to 22. For a full list of nominations, please click here.
The United Kingdom dominates across many of the categories, not least in Sitcom, where nine of the ten nominations are from here. Matt Lipsey’s Psychoville, Andy Hamilton and Guy Jenkin’s Outnumbered: Christmas Special and BAFTA-winning The Inbetweeners, directed by Ben Palmer, are all in the running for the award.
The UK was similarly unstoppable in the Comedy category, with another nine nominations making that shortlist too. Facejacker, directed by Kayvan Novak and Ed Tracy, The Kevin Bishop Show, which had Dominic Brigstocke and Elliot Hegarty as its directors, and another recent BAFTA winner - The Armstrong and Miller Show, also directed by Dominic Brigstocke – are just some of the nominees.
There are seven programmes from the United Kingdom up for the Reality and Factual Entertainment award, including One Born Every Minute – another BAFTA winner, with direction from James House, Emma Tutty and Lisa Smith – and Coach Trip, directed by Keely van Dyke. The UK also has four nominations in Drama and Mini Series, with yet another BAFTA winner Misfits – which included Tom Harper, Tom Green and Amanda Harper as its directors – competing with the likes of Richard Laxton’s An Englishman in New York and Royal Wedding, by director James Griffiths.
Directors UK would like to congratulate all those who have been nominated for a Rose d’Or award. The award ceremony will be held at the Rose d'Or Festival in Lucerne, Switzerland, which runs from September 18 to 22. For a full list of nominations, please click here.
Tuesday, 8 June 2010
UK Film Industry contributes over £4.5 billion a year to economy, research shows
According to major new research commissioned by the UK Film Council, the film industry contributes more £4.5 billion a year to the UK GDP, over £1.2 billion to the Exchequer and is responsible for supporting 100,000 jobs.
The research, which was undertaken by independent organisation Oxford Economics, proves the value both economically and culturally of UK film to the nation as a whole, and identifies the significance of tax relief to the health of the sector.
You can read the report here. To read a more detailed summary from Directors UK, please visit our website.
The research, which was undertaken by independent organisation Oxford Economics, proves the value both economically and culturally of UK film to the nation as a whole, and identifies the significance of tax relief to the health of the sector.
You can read the report here. To read a more detailed summary from Directors UK, please visit our website.
Online Movie Week in the UK
This week is Online Movie Week in the UK, and VoD website Blinkbox is allowing film fans the chance to stream the likes of Avatar and Sherlock Holmes from now until 13th June.
Full Stream Ahead is offering visitors £20 worth of credit to spend at Blinkbox, in an attempt to halt the practice of the illegal downloading and filesharing of films. It has the backing of Hollywood film studios, and comes after research showed that a major reason for unlawful filesharing sites was that internet users were unable to find the content elsewhere. It is also supported by the BFI and the UK Film Council.
To access your £20 credit, please click here.
Full Stream Ahead is offering visitors £20 worth of credit to spend at Blinkbox, in an attempt to halt the practice of the illegal downloading and filesharing of films. It has the backing of Hollywood film studios, and comes after research showed that a major reason for unlawful filesharing sites was that internet users were unable to find the content elsewhere. It is also supported by the BFI and the UK Film Council.
To access your £20 credit, please click here.
Misfits and The Unloved find approval at BAFTAs
Misfits, The Unloved and Wounded were amongst the winners at this year’s BAFTA Television Awards, which were held on Sunday at the London Palladium. Inside Nature's Giants, Britain's Got Talent and EastEnders also picked up awards on the night.
To read a full report of the awards, visit our website
To read a full report of the awards, visit our website
Deadline for Encounters Festival approaching
The 16th Encounters International Short Film Festival, which takes place between 16-21 November 2010, will stop accepting submissions on the 30th June.
Whilst the standard entry rate has gone up to £25 per submission, the festival is still offering the reduced rate of £15 for digitally submitted films via YouSendIt, and if you are submitting 2 or more there are heavily reduced rates.
For further information visit their website or contact info@encounters-festival.org.uk.
Whilst the standard entry rate has gone up to £25 per submission, the festival is still offering the reduced rate of £15 for digitally submitted films via YouSendIt, and if you are submitting 2 or more there are heavily reduced rates.
For further information visit their website or contact info@encounters-festival.org.uk.
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