Film Industry: British film industry factsheets

Our first Close Study Product is from the film industry - Blinded By The Light (2019) directed by Gurinder Chadha.

This low-mid budget production ($15m) co-funded by New Line Cinema (an American production studio owned by Warner Brothers Pictures Group) is a great example of how the British film industry often relies on American money to make movies. Here's the trailer:

Normally, in the lesson you would have been taken through the rich history of British film from the Second World War to the 21st century but instead we've put in video format which will appear here:

Once you've watched the history of the British film industry lesson, you need to add to your knowledge of the industry by reading two media factsheets and completing a series of tasks - see below.

The British film industry: blog tasks 

Factsheet #132: British Film

Use our brilliant Media Factsheet archive on the M: drive Media Shared (M:\Resources\A Level\Media Factsheets) to find Media Factsheet #132 on British Film. You can find it online here - you'll need to log in using your Greenford Google login. Read the whole of Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) Write a one-sentence definition of what makes a film British.

2) What is the difference between a Hollywood production context and production context of a British film?

3) When did the James Bond franchise start?

4) In terms of film censorship and graphic content, what began to change in British film in the 1970s and 1980s?

5) What groups are often represented in British film? Give examples of films these groups feature in.

6) What does the Factsheet suggest might be the audience appeal of British film?

Factsheet #100: British film industry

To complete our introduction to the British film industry, we need a little more background to the industries context.

Find Media Factsheet #100 on the British film industry. You can find it on the same link as above. Read the whole of the Factsheet and answer the following questions:

1) What is the 'cultural test' to see if a film counts as British?

2) Complete the task on the Factsheet, researching the films listed and finding out what they score on the cultural test: The Sweeney (2012), Attack The Block, The King's Speech, We Need To Talk About Kevin and Skyfall.

3) What is the main problem for the British film industry?

4) What are three of the strengths of the British film industry?

5) What are the two options for the future of the British film industry?

6) In your opinion, which of these two options would best safeguard the future of the British film industry?

Due date: on Google Classroom