U.K. Indies Unite in Challenging Times

variety.com:

K.J. Yossman The U.K. production boom, while good news for crews (and audiences), has not necessarily proved a boon for independent filmmakers.Largely generated by the streamer wars, film and high-end television production spend in the U.K.

hit $7.6 billion in 2021. A closer look at the figures, however, revealed that the majority of that spend was on high-end TV production, which had nearly doubled compared to 2019, while expenditure on film grew only by 3%.Worse, the boom has created a scarcity of resources, from crew and soundstages to generators and actors (one agent even told Variety productions were struggling to find Winnebagos to accommodate their clients on set).

The scarcity has in turn pushed up prices. It’s another blow to already small margins on independent films, on top of COVID safety measures, low cinema attendance and general inflation, which has turned even the price of fuel into an additional financial burden.

Independent film box office is “still very challenged,” acknowledges Ed Guiney, co-founder of Element Pictures, which has produced features such as last year’s Directors’ Fortnight contender “The Souvenir Part II.” “And then the other real challenge in that world is just the huge cost increases everywhere.”Throw in a global pandemic and the tech-induced disruption of traditional distribution chains and suddenly the situation looks dire.