The UK’s film and high-end TV industries are to be examined in depth by an influential parliamentary committee, with hot-button issues including AI and struggling cinema chains sitting atop the agenda.
Around two decades after the previous probe, the Culture, Media and Sport Committee will investigate “what needs to be done to maintain and enhance the UK as a global destination for production and how the independent film production sector can best be supported,” it said in a statement today.
On the agenda will be the rise of AI – a key sticking point in the current labor disputes across the pond – along with skills, retention and the challenges for British cinemas following the recent Cineworld restructure and collapse of the Empire chain.
Britain’s high-end TV and film sector is one of the world’s leading and last year spent £6.3B ($8.1B) on production but, as with many industries, it is experiencing teething problems and is being impacted by the SAG and WGA strikes, amongst other issues.
Stakeholders will be invited to submit the answers to these questions by September 19:
- How attractive is the UK as a global destination for the production of film and high-end television?
- What are the current challenges facing the UK’s independent film production sector?
- What more can be done to incentivise film and high-end television production in the UK?
- What are the issues facing the UK’s film exhibition sector?
- What can the industry and Government do to ensure British film and high-end television can adapt for the future?
Caroline Dinenage, who chairs the Committee, said: “The financial problems encountered by big name cinema chains have highlighted the importance of protecting and promoting the UK’s screen heritage, while the actors and writers strikes in the United States show the importance of getting ahead of the game in adapting skills and responding to the challenges of artificial intelligence.”
She added: “The challenge now is to make sure the industry and government are thinking of the future to maintain and enhance an industry that is hugely important both to the economy and to the culture of the UK and its power on the world stage.”
The Committee has held high-profile sessions of late including one with ITV bosses over the Phillip Schofield fallout and another with now-resigned BBC Chair Richard Sharp.