If you are an independent filmmaker in the UK or you’re an actor involved in low budget films you need to mark March 18th 2010 in your diary.
A meeting is taking place in London which could potentially revolutionise the way low budget and indie films are made in the UK and change the landscape forever.
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The debate over National Minimum Wage and low budget filmmaking took an interesting turn a couple of weeks ago when Shooting People launched a survey of its members to see whether or not they supported working for less than NMW. Many critics of SP who had previously accused the organisation of ignoring the issue subsequently ridiculed the poll for being biased and poorly worded. My favourite response from the TV Watercooler website was “its a bit like asking all shoplifters what they think of conditions in retail“.
And you know what? They’re right. Whilst I applaud Shooting People for raising the issue to its membership, the poll itself doesn’t really get to the crux of the issue and that’s the fact that any low budget film or fringe theatre production is potentially breaking the law by not paying its cast and crew National Minimum Wage.
Rather than go over old ground or look at whether it’s fair or not, I thought I’d have a look at the two sides to the argument, a potential solution, why the unions (BECTU and Equity) would not support the proposal and the reasons why they should.
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Uruguayan filmmaker, Fede Alvarez, posted his low budget short film Ataque de Panico! (Panic Attack) on YouTube last month. The film cost $300 to make.
According to an article on the BBC website, he uploaded the film on a Thursday and by Monday he’d received offers from Hollywood studios to make a feature film. He’s now signed up a deal with Sam Raimi to make a $30m Hollywood movie.
I wonder what would have happened if Panic Attack had been made by a UK filmmaker. Would the UK film community congratulate him or castigate him?
If you read some of the comments on my previous post or the resulting discussions on Shooting People (requires log in), there are plenty of people who think Fede Alvarez wouldn’t, or perhaps more importantly, shouldn’t have got this opportunity in the UK. There are people who would dismiss Mr Alvarez as nothing more than a hobbyist or enthusiast. There are some who would hound him for making a film without paying everyone.
So, the way I see it, the next generation of UK filmmakers needs to fall into one of the following categories:
Happy Christmas!
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In 2008 over 20,000 feature films were made worldwide but only 516 had a theatrical release in the UK of one week or more. (source: UK Film Council). As an independent filmmaker the chances of your film getting a theatrical release in the UK is pretty much zero. DVD sales have been dropping annually since 2002 and the number of UK distributors for indie films has dropped during the recession as firms go to the wall or merge.
With the Film Council announcing a £25m cut in funding it all looks pretty bleak for the UK indie filmmaking community, doesn’t it?
Well the results of a recent employment tribunal are only going to make matters worse.
The tribunal in Reading ruled that expenses only engagements are illegal and National Minimum Wage should be paid to all workers engaged on an expenses only basis. HMRC can impose a fine of up to £5000 to those companies who fail to pay their workers at least NMW.
So where does that leave UK indie films like Colin, the zombie movie which was shot for £45? Will this decision lead to the end of low budget filmmaking in the UK?
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Now I know the title of this blog is “The occasional ramblings of an out of work actor” but I’ve really taken the piss, haven’t I? No posts since April? Shocking behaviour…
There’s no real excuse, to be honest. Sure I’ve been busy with stuff but not so busy that I should neglect you - my solitary reader. I know you’ve been checking back every day to see if I’ve updated. You probably thought the RSS feed was borked or something, right? I feel so totally connected to your IP address. It’s like an old familiar face to me. There you are. Every day. Hoping I’ve updated the blog.
I love you mum.
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