‘The King’s Speech’, the film depicting George VI’s inspirational battle overcoming his speech impediment to broadcast to the nation during World War Two, has swept the board and this year’s Oscars, marking another triumph for the British industry. My congratulations go to the Director Tom Hooper, writer David Seidler and of course to the film’s lead actor Colin Firth. The success of films like this is great news for the creative industries in Britain and often is good news as well for tourism; as visitors come to see the locations where the filming took place. The King’s Speech was produced for £8 million including a grant of £1 million of lottery money given by the Film Council. The film has already earned over £156 million, and is the highest earning UK independent film of all time at the UK box office. Given its success in the major awards ceremonies, I’m sure it will do even better at the box office this year.
There has been much debate in the last year about the public support for film in Britain and this also of some interest to our area, as Folkestone is the base for one of England’s regional screen agencies, Screen South. This is also something I have been involved with through my work in parliament as a member of the House of Commons Select Committee for Culture, Media and Sport. There is clearly a role for public resources and lottery money set aside for supporting culture and the arts being used assist the British film industry. The Government has announced that to save money on administration the functions of the UK Film Council will be merged into the British Film Institute. These savings will mean that with additional support from the lottery fund, there will be more money going into film making in Britain in the future.
Last Friday I attended a showcase of the work of Screen South at the Quarterhouse in Folkestone; we are fortunate to have them based in our area. Screen South work to attract major film makers to base their productions in the south east. They also invest in productions by new and emerging local talent. This has included helping the producers of the new British romantic comedy, Chalet Girl, find the funding they needed to make the film and get it into the cinemas; it should be on screens very soon. Screen South have invested £4.5mllion in local film making over the last ten years and since they were established have actively encouraged over £1billion of film production work into the region. I hope that Screen South’s association with Folkestone continues for many years to come.
Earlier last Friday I was also delighted to accept the invitation from Church and Dwight to open their new offices at the Shearway Business Park in Folkestone. They now employ over 450 people in the town and are Folkestone’s largest manufacturing business. I wish them every continued success for the future.