LEIGH FUMING OVER FILM COUNCIL CLOSURE
British director MIKE LEIGH has criticised the U.K. government over its d ecision to shut down one of the country’s leading film bodies - calling t he closure of the UK Film Council "shocking" and "totally out of order".
The funding body, which has helped finance a string of British hits inc luding The Last King of Scotland and Bend It Like Beckham, has fallen vic tim to wide-ranging spending cuts as politicians attempt to stem a multi- million dollar budget deficit.
But the Vera Drake director, who is one of many U.K. filmmakers to have received funding from the organisation, is adamant the government should not have culled such an important institution, insisting the closure wil l have a negative impact on the country’s blossoming film industry.
He says, "(It is) totally out of order. It’s very shocking indeed. It’s from left of field in a very sudden and devastating way. It’s remarkable and extremely worrying. It really is no way to operate." British film producer Stephen Woolley, who has worked on pictures inclu ding The Crying Game, has also slammed the decision to close the UK Film Council, telling Britain’s Radio 4, "(It’s a) ridiculous, short-sighted a ction. It’s a real problem for some of our really great British films and budding young filmmakers."
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