ITV and Five could be forced to show more British films

by Staff,, Brand Republic 03-Mar-03, 10:30

LONDON - ITV1, which showed just one new British movie in the last six months, could be forced to show more home-grown films if moves to amend the communications bill by the British film industry are successful.

The amendment would include films when measuring a station's commitment to public broadcasting obligations. It was proposed by the Labour MP Parmjit Dhanda. He told the Independent on Sunday: "This should help ensure that more high-quality British films are made and seen on both large and small screens."

Terrestrial television channels currently show very few British films. A survey by the Film Council revealed that only 2.6% of films shown in the last half of 2002 on mainstream television were British.

ITV1 and Five lead the roll-call of shame, showing only one British movie apiece, 'Rogue Trader' and Stanley Kubrick's 'Eyes Wide Shut' respectively.

BBC Two showed three; BBC One showed six, including 'Mansfield Park' and 'Chicken Run'. Channel 4, which recently shut its production arm FilmFour, showed the strongest commitment with 16 British films under five years old. These included 'Notting Hill' and 'East is East'.

The IoS quoted John Woodward, chief executive of the Film Council, as saying: "The involvement of broadcasters is essential to the development of a sustainable UK film industry and this change will open up more opportunities to talented filmmakers and give viewers access to more high-quality, distinctively British films."

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