Welcome to The Price of Independence in Film

Last week the British Independent Film Awards (BIFAs) celebrated the best the UK’s independent film industry has to offer. On Sunday 18 awards were handed to films such as Pride (Best Film), ’71 (Best Director) and Calvary (Best Actor). The BIFAs are a time during which much attention is given to these indie success stories; directors, talent and producers alike bask in the glory of the moment. However, this is an exception in the British independent calendar. Out of the top 100 box office hits of 2014, only 20 had British involvement. If we further narrow this selection down by excluding those titles that were produced with major involvement of either big studios or institutions such as the BBC, we are left with only 11 films.

- Here's a little taste of the BIFA excitement and bling - 

It has traditionally been true that any independent production, be it British or from the continent, has always had difficulties standing up against big budget productions from the Big Six in Hollywood. The big studios offer production budgets that independent producers can only dream of as well as huge marketing recourses, in addition to owning large parts of the distribution chain, which allows them to maximise their returns in the long tail.

But only recently ABC Entertainment Group’s president Paul Lee said that “there is no question that the UK is right at the forefront of creativity and people look here for ideas and talent”. So why is the independent British film industry struggling to reflect this potential at the box office?

Finding necessary funding will always be one of the major challenges in making independent feature films. Here, indies have an obvious disadvantage compared to projects made in, or at least with support of, the studio system—be it in Hollywood, Bollywood or their African counterpart Nollywood. The large overhead and costs of pre-production make it difficult for indies to get off the ground, while studio productions have large corporate infrastructure with great financial strength to back them. More time and money can be spent on developing scripts and honing projects. More money also means that it’s easier to get star talent involved, which still holds important sway in attracting large audiences.

On the other hand larger investments of 100m+ usually bring with them a degree of streamlining, as producers are wary of straying too far from proven templates in the fear of losing revenues. Indies are often more experimental in their approach, resulting in innovations. However, there will invariably be those films where experimenting does not pay off, causing the film to flop. And since no one wants to risk their investments to go lost in a flop, this makes the funding of independent productions harder still.

So, the point I’m making here is that finding money for an independent production is tricky business. Therefore, it is precisely this topic I will be exploring in my blog. By drawing on current issues, data and emerging trends I will endeavor to explore the financing structures available to indie producers in the UK. The various funding possibilities and grant-making institutions, such as the British Film Institute and Skillset, as well as other national and regional funding bodies will be a major part of my exploration. I will be leading interviews with seasoned industry professionals involved both in distributing as well as raising funds, i.e. funders and producers. We will be talking about practical, real life approaches to financing indies. This will give us the unique opportunity to learn from their many years of invaluable experience in the industry. Watch this space!