In his last keynote address as U.K. Film Distributors’ Association president, veteran producer David Puttnam struck a sombre note highlighting a number of critical issues the country’s media industry is facing.
Addressing a rapt audience at the BAFTA headquarters in London on Tuesday, Puttnam identified skills shortage and lack of investment in skills as a “major crisis” hanging over the industry. According to Puttnam’s calculations, a committed annual investment of £40 million ($50 million) in skills could result in production savings of well over £100 million ($125 million).New data commissioned by Puttnam from accountancy firm Saffery Champness shows that underinvestment, leading to scarcity of talent, has resulted in significant wage inflation for mid-level production roles, with spikes of between 7-15% above the cost of living.
Puttnam said that inward investment in the film and high end TV sectors, currently at a record height of £6.27 billion, could move out of the U.K. to locations in which similar production quality can be obtained at a more competitive price. “Please believe me, there are countries snapping at our heels, who would love to seize the business that we’ve so very painstakingly built,” Puttnam said.
Puttnam welcomed the formation of the U.K. skills task force led by former Amazon Studios Europe boss Georgia Brown and said that he looked forward to the body’s recommendations.
The Oscar-winning producer of “Chariots of Fire” also pointed to BFI statistics that revealed that the spend on U.K. independent filmmaking showed a 31% decrease versus 2021, “depriving audiences of an extraordinary rich variety of storytelling which reflects our individual and collective histories,” Puttnam said.
Puttnam presided over the release of the 2022 FDA Yearbook, which highlights full year gross box office growing by 64% year on year in 2022, reaching £979 million from 911 releases, a recovery, but not yet at the 50-year sector highs witnessed immediately pre-pandemic.
“The frequencyof cinema visits post-pandemic isbeginningto move in the right direction, this can only be good news, but as yet it’s nowherenearwhere any of us would like, or in some casesneedit to be. Audience numbers had already stubbornly plateaued even before the pandemic,” Puttnam said.
Puttnam confirmed that he was stepping down as FDA president.
