British Film

A Case study
 What is a British film?
Most people would define a ‘British’ film with reference to obvious
cultural elements such as:
• A setting in the UK or a focus on British people abroad;
• A predominantly British cast;
• A storyline about some aspect of British life — past, present or future;
• or notably by, or based on a work by, a British author.

Examples include:
Billy Elliott, about a boy in North East England, and Bend it Like Beckham,
about a girl from West London, both portraying particular social issues.
The nationalities of scriptwriter, producer, director and, perhaps
especially, the ‘investment’ seem less obviously significant. However,
both artistic and financial considerations serve to complicate this issue.
 The Law
Statutory definition

Under present legislation a film certified by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and
Sport as qualifying as ‘British’ can benefit from advantageous tax treatment (dealt with in
detail later in this Report). These incentives were designed to encourage the indigenous industry as well as attracting inward investment in the form of
overseas productions. A large number of projects in both of these categories simply would not have been made, or not made here, without these
incentives.

There are two ways that a film may qualify as ‘British’ — either under Schedule 1 to the Films Act 1985, examples include the Bond and Harry Potter
films, or by satisfying the terms of an international co-production agreement to which the UK is a party.2 Under the Films Act, for a film to be
certified as ‘British’ by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, a number of tests must be met:3

a) The maker test: the film must be made by a company that is registered and centrally
managed and controlled in the UK, in another state of the European Union/European
Economic Area or in a country with which the European Community has signed an
Association Agreement;4
b) The production cost test: 70% of the production cost of the film must be spent on filmmaking
activity in the UK;
• c) The labour cost test:
• i. 70% of the total cost (minus — if desired — the cost of one person whose nationality
• must be non-Commonwealth/EU/EEA/Association Agreement country) must have
• been paid to citizens or ordinary residents of the Commonwealth, EU/EEA or a
• country with which the European Community has signed an Agreement; and
• ii. 75% of the total labour cost — after deducting the cost of two persons whose
• nationality must be non-Commonwealth/EU/EEA/Association Agreement country,
• and one of whom must be an actor6 — must have been paid to citizens or ordinary
• residents of the Commonwealth, EU/EEA or a country with which the European
• Community has signed an Agreement.7
• d) Previously filmed material: no more than 10% of the playing time of the film should
• comprise a sequence of visual images from a previously certified film or from a film by a
• different maker.