As you review the British Film Industry, I wish to draw your attention to the failure of film funding organisations and companies to invest sufficiently in black film-makers and black-owned production companies in the UK—specifically those seeking to make feature films. The word "black" refers to persons of African or Caribbean origin.

  The bodies in question are The Film Council, BBC Films and the National Lottery Film Franchises (DNA Films, Pathé and The Film Consortium). They are in receipt of hundreds of millions of pounds of public money and therefore have a particular duty of responsibility to ensure that black film-makers and black-owned production companies access funding. However they continue to do less than the bare minimum to award funds to black film professionals.

  The lack of investment in blacks, as detailed below, is a telling indictment of the abject failure of these organisations to make racial diversity a priority:

BLACK FILM-MAKERS AND BLACK-OWNED PRODUCTION COMPANIES IN RECEIPT OF PUBLIC FUNDS FROM

1.  The Film Council

  Black-owned Company: Riverchild Films

Black Producer: Stella Nwimo

Funds received:

Slate funding—£65,000

Development funding—£29,900

Production funding from Premie"re Fund—£50,000

  Black-owned Company: Shona Productions

Black Producer: Mark Tonderai

Funds received:

Slate funding—£44,000

  Black-owned Company: One Love Films Limited

Black Director: Don Letts

Funds received:

Development funding—£9,380

Production funding from the New Cinema Fund—£459,182

  Black-owned Company: Spiritdance UK

Black Producer: Johann Insanally

Funds received:

Production Funding from the New Cinema Fund—£210,000

  Black Producer: Leon Herbert

Funds received:

Production Funding from the New Cinema Fund—£45,000

  The total amount of funding given directly to black film-makers and black-owned production companies to develop or produce feature films is: £912,462. This represents a mere 2% of the Film Council's total expenditure (£40,912,112) in this area since it was set up in 2000. (Reference: www.filmcouncil.org.uk viewed on 18 February 2003).

  The New Cinema Fund has a particular remit to nurture black film-makers yet the Head of the Fund, Paul Trijbits has received £359,989 from the Film Council for his film My Brother. This represents a staggering 50% of the total investment his fund has given to black film-makers across the country since it was set up.

2.  The BBC

  BBC Films has a track record of failing to engage black film-makers and black-owned production companies in the UK. There are no strategies or initiatives in place at BBC Films to address its woeful record of under-funding. BBC Films has rarely if ever invested in the production or development of feature films by black film-makers or black-owned production companies. There are no blacks in positions of responsibility at BBC Films.

3.  The Lottery Franchise Companies

  Since they were set up over five years ago, the three national lottery film franchises have also failed to work with black film-makers or black-owned production companies in the UK. Neither do they employ black creatives despite being in receipt of over £90 million in public funds.

  DNA teamed up with black-owned film and training organisation Black Coral Productions to launch a one-off £10,000 script fund for ethnic minority writers (First Draft—Focus on Talent 3). This is a paltry sum. Black producer Stella Nwimo has allegedly received some development funding from The Film Consortium and appears to be the only black producer to have obtained anything at all from a franchise company.

THE FILM COUNCIL'S RECORD OF WORKING WITH BLACK FILM-MAKERS AND BLACK-OWNED PRODUCTION COMPANIES

  The Film Council's Development fund claims that "around 20% of the projects currently in development with the fund feature ethnically diverse storylines." (Reference: Film Council Annual Review 2001-02 page 47). This is a vague and misleading statement which masks the fact that the development fund is not directly supporting black film-makers and black-owned production companies making feature films. Apart from the companies and individuals mentioned above, there are two black writers, Amma Asante and Felix Dexter developing feature film projects with non-black producers, namely Peter Edwards and Parminder Vir (a Film Council Board Member). Black film-makers and black-owned production companies are being denied development funds.

  The Film Council's Premie"re Fund claims that "Six projects in development involve black or Asian talent or subject matter." (Reference: Film Council Annual Review 2001-02 page 55). The Premie"re Fund is also being misleading. Apart from Riverchild Films, above, there are no black production companies in receipt of production funding from the Premie"re Fund. However, French Producer, Philippe Carcassonne has received £500,000 from the fund to produce French Language movie L'Homme Du Train. He has received a hundred times more money from the Premie"re Fund than Riverchild Films and doesn't even live in England. Yes it's important to encourage co-productions but this is evidently a greater priority to the Film Council than its duty to black film-makers and black-owned production companies in the UK.

  The Film Council's literature suggests that it is funding more black film-makers and black-owned production companies than it is obliged to. However, in reality, it is actively excluding this section of British film-makers. At the Film Council, the perceived wisdom is that increasing access to training will solve the problem of the under-employment of blacks in the film industry. However there are generations of trained and skilled black film-makers and actors in the UK whom the industry refuses to employ. They are constantly knocking at the Film Council's door and get the same answer—NO!

  In the Film Council's annual review for 2001-02, CEO John Woodward talks about setting up a cultural diversity policy group in 2003 to be chaired by Tim Bevan to broaden its range of partners. Diversity is such a low priority that the Film Council is only looking at strategies almost three years after it was set up and only saw fit to appoint a Head of Diversity in November 2002!

  Like BBC Films and The Lottery Franchise companies, the Film Council Funds do not employ black executives. With such an absence of ethnic diversity in their own ranks, how can these organisations possibly address the needs and concerns of black film-makers and black-owned production companies. Their track record speaks for itself.

  A way forward would be for the underspend by the Lottery Franchise Companies to be used to create a fund for black film-makers and black-owned production companies. A portion of the Film Council's budget (across all three funds) should also be allocated to this fund. After all, if the Development Fund is prepared to allocate up to 20% of its budget to European Co-Productions why can't it allocate funds for black film-makers and black-owned production companies based in the UK?

  The talent is out there in the black community but it is not even being met even half way by the film bodies. They preach diversity but practice discrimination and exclusion.

  I urge the Committee to please:

—  Call publicly-funded film organisations and companies to account over their failure to invest in black film-makers and black-owned production companies.

—  Insist on a radical change in employment practices at the Film Council to make it at least as racially diverse as the public it is there to serve.

—  Advocate a minimum spend on the work of black film-makers and black-owned production companies to ensure that they get a real and fair chance to tell stories from their perspective and contribute to making the British film industry a success.

18 February 2003