Looking for Eric is an independent Social Realist / Comedy hybrid that is culturally and institutionally British. The narrative is about a middle aged Manchester Postman (Eric) who is frustrated with his life – he has been separated from his ex-wife (Lilly) for 20 years, is single and lives with his two wayward step-sons who cause him significant trouble and distress. One night, at his wits end he steals some weed from one of the boys and...

Institutional Factors | Distribution

Submarine was written and directed by Richard Ayoade and released at UK cinemas in March 2011 after significant critical success at festivals including the London Film Festival (LFF) but particularly the Toronto Film Festival. Toronto success secured the film a distribution contract with the Weinstein Company (formerly Disney owned Miramax) – Bob and Harvey Weinstein’s company in essence can be...

Synopsis and Character

The King’s Speech tells the story of how King George VI of England (Colin Firth) learns to live with a speech impediment. As father of the current Queen of England he unexpectedly becomes King after his brother, King Edward VIII (played by Guy Pearce) abdicates the throne to marry to marry divorcee Mrs Wallis Simpson in December 1936. The British government feared a constitutional crisis surrounding a British monarch...

Synopsis and Character

Lambeth in South London, Bonfire Night / Fifth of November. Present Day. A young nurse called Sam (played by Jodie Whittaker) is mugged by a gang of masked hoodies: Moses, the quiet but serious leader (played by John Boyega), Pest by name and nature(played by Alex Esmail), Dennis (played by Franz Drameh), Jerome (Leeon Jones) and Biggz (Simon Howard). In the middle of this, a meteorite plummets from the sky into a nearby...

Synopsis

The Winchester, a typical London pub. Shaun (Simon Pegg), his girlfriend Liz (kate Ashfield), her two friends David (Dylan Moran) and Diane (Lucy David) are in the pub. Shaun’s best friend, the foul mouthed (and minded) overweight layabout, Ed (Nick Frost) plays the slot machines. Shaun is getting a hard time from this girlfriend; she wants to spend more time with him, be more exciting and do more than sit in The Winchester with Ed....

Overview

• Directed by Stephen Frears
• Shot on location in Dorset and at Pinewood Studios
• Adapted screenplay by Moira Buffini (Jane Eyre, 2011) from a Graphic Novel by Posy Simmonds (The Guardian). Ready made Storyboard.

• Produced by BBC Films (Exec Production), Ruby Films (Production Company) and West End Films (Sales Agents/Casting)
• Ruby Films (Fish Tank 2009, Jane Eyre 2011) are an independent production company that specialise in literary...

Shifty is an independent social realist film that borrows (in terms of genre conventions) from the Crime Thriller/Gangster film, although arguably is not a hybrid genre. The film was produced with key funding from fledgling organisation Microwave who offer grants to film makers if they can keep the production budget under £100,000 and can execute filming in less than 18 days. Additional funding for distribution came from the UK Film...

Overview

• Independent Film – CULTURALLY and INSTITUTIONALLY
• Writer / Director – Andrea Arnold (b.1961, Dartford)

• Part funded / Executive Production by BBC Films
• Produced by Kasander Films (Arnold’s Production Company)
• Additional funding: UK Film Council (Prints and Advertising Fund - £70,000, New Cinema Fund - £644,000 and Development Fund - £20,000)

• Nominated for the Palm D’Or at Cannes 2009
• Winner of Jury Prize at Cannes
• 2010...

Associated Resources

• British Film and Hollywood Essay.doc

British Film has been dominated by Hollywood since WW1. Any essay that discusses UK Film has to reference the cultural and ideological dominance of the Hollywood Film Industry to such as point that many cinema goers often will never see a film in any other environment than a multiplex cinema. They may also fail to recognise that many other countries have very successful film industries...