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best of british
the doughty dozen
“The idea is that
ultimately
we’re on the
same team,
not to the
exclusion
of American
cinema
but as a satisfying contrast to it.”
Everyone loves the plucky British film industry, forever punching above its weight and challenging for top honours.
This usually means going up against bigger budgeted, more aggressively marketed American movies, the sort of films that adorn every available inch of billboard, newsprint and bus shelter space.
So when the awards season comes around it’s not a big sur- prise that ‘For Your Consideration’ ads typically represent films that are not especially representative of the UK industry.
In an attempt to level this uneven playing field, The Script Factory’s Charlotte Macleod put into practice a simple but highly effective initiative entitled Choice Brits 2003.
This was a programme of screenings at BAFTA highlighting a few of the British films eligible for next year’s Orange British Academy Film Awards. With each of the twelve Choice Brits titles introduced by a filmmaker with no particular con- nection to the film, the idea was to celebrate general British craft through specific examples.
Industry professionals as well as BAFTA members took to it enthusi- astically. “We were really just mak- ing BAFTA members aware of the eligible British films,” says Macleod, “and asking them to consider these films rather than giving it the hard sell. We were saying that, before you vote, please stop and think about them.
“Last year there was a feeling that beautiful films like Lawless Heart simply couldn’t compete in terms of screenings, or press and publicity. In a way they were slip- ping through the net. What we thought we could do was arrange screenings of small films that we think people might not have had a chance to see, and with the information we have col- lected on our website it allows people to have more information at their fingertips.”
It may be just a coincidence that this bright idea has been put into motion in the same year as the MPAA-led screener ban, but Choice Brits has proved a useful way for members to see potential domestic vote winners.
“Of course you can never totally compete with sending out
Choice Brits aims to level the playing field. Anwar Brett reports
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Photos; main: Daniel Craig and Anna Reid in The Mother; top (l-r): Joe Simpson (Touching The Void) in Peru; Richard Jobson (left) on the set of 16 Years Of Alcohol; Molly Parker in Pure
boxed sets of the Harry Potter film,” adds Macleod. “But what’s interesting is that if industry peers flag up UK films, I think BAFTA members respond much better to kudos and the endorsement from the industry than simply being bombarded with marketing.”
The lucky dozen films screened under the Choice Brits banner during November and December are The Heart Of Me, The Mother, Touching The Void, The Last Great Wilderness, 16 Years Of Alcohol, In America, Bodysong, In This World, Pure, Girl With A Pearl Earring, Revengers Tragedy and Heartlands.
But these were only the tip of the iceberg. With more than twice as many British contenders
vying for attention choosing the doughty dozen was an onerous task. While everyone agreed that this is a terrific idea, that did not prevent funding falling through before Choice Brits could proper- ly get going.
Fortunately Orange, The UK Film Council and Variety stepped into the sponsorship breach. Finding filmmakers to champion the films proved to be no prob- lem whatsoever.
“It was important that people had no connection with the film they were introducing.” Macleod continues, “though we tried to get people who were interested in the subject. So we have Mike Figgis introducing Bodysong, which is a digital documentary. In