Now that they're both done and dusted, in the bag, over and done with, in the can and many other ways to basically just say I handed them both in, I can post them! They might not be of interest to anyone, but fuck it, I'll put them up anyway. I'm putting a gun to your head, but she is:
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| Yes, I know, this is a drill, but the idea's there. Shut up. There's still an element of menace involved though, right? |
Well, here's the first essay, and it's about Africa United, a film I didn't ever go to see, but only wrote about because profits from it go to Comic Relief, and because Dr Fox, former Pop Idol judge is executive producer. Not because I like him, it's just a random fact. The second essay I'll put in another post straight after this one, there'd be FAR too much reading for one post. Anyway, I liked what I'd written, so here's essay number one! I'll put the references in too, so in the unlikely event you want to read on further, or dispute everything I've said, feel free...
1812186 FMS9X1 Assessment 1 Week 5 Task (Film Funding and Exhibition)
1) Select one current cinema release. Research its sources of funding and prepare a critically informed report of your findings to the group.
Africa United, a film released in the United Kingdom on October 22nd, 2010, is the feature film directing debut of Deborah Gardner-Paterson, featuring a predominantly young cast of many first-time actors. The story of the film (Africa United, 2010) focuses on three Rwandan children, who upon missing an audition to be part of the opening ceremony for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, decide to travel 3000 miles to Johannesburg to attend the ceremony anyway, meeting other African children along the way. The film is also contributing to charity, as 25% of the total profits made from the movie will be donated to Comic Relief, as Comic Relief provides aid to countries in which Africa United is filmed. (Comic Relief, 2010)
In a feature in the Observer newspaper (McVeigh and Thorpe, 2010) it is stated that the film was produced in three countries in Africa, Burundi, Rwanda and South Africa, representing the seven countries that the characters make their way through during the course of the film, including the Congo.
The Internet Movie Database (IMDb, 2010) shows the companies involved in the production of Africa United are Pathé Productions, Footprint Films, Link Media Productions and BBC Films. The film was also produced in association with South African service company Out of Africa, “who provided most of the film’s crew.” (Screen International, 2010)
It is also reported in Screen International, a trade publication for the film industry (Screen International, 2010), that in regards to the film’s funding, Pathé contributed 50% of the film’s $6 million dollar budget, BBC Films put up $768,000, as did the UK Film Council (UK Film Council, 2010), a “Government-backed lead agency for film in the UK ensuring that the economic, cultural and educational aspects of film are effectively represented at home and abroad.” In 2010, plans were announced by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government to abolish the UK Film Council (UK Film Council, 2010).
Africa United also received funds of $768,000 from Rwanda’s Ministry of Youth, Culture and Sports, one of the countries where the film was produced. The country’s government is also currently establishing an official Rwandan film commission, in order to attract foreign films to be produced there (Screen International, 2010). This would help to improve Rwanda’s standing in the film industry and move on from the frequent film portrayals of the genocide in 1994.
Footprint Films, the company which produced Africa United, has made 12 productions, four of which have been produced in conjunction with the UK Film Council. Seven of the films produced by Footprint Films are short features. (Footprint Films, 2010)
BBC Films has produced 189 features for film and television, including the Academy Award-nominated An Education, In the Loop, and StreetDance 3D, Britain’s first 3D film production. BBC Films also has 22 projects in development. (IMDb, 2010)
Africa United is distributed by a number of companies. Pathé International is distributing the film in France; Warner Bros. International is responsible for distribution in the United Kingdom; with Hopscotch Films distributing in Australia; E1 Entertainment Benelux in Belgium, Holland and Luxembourg; Central Partnership in Eastern Europe; Teleview in Lebanon and the Middle East; and Svensk Filmindustri (SF) in Scandinavia (Yahoo! Movies, 2010).
It is difficult to determine a country of origin for Africa United, as the film was produced in three separate African countries, with a cast and crew from Britain and many African countries, while Pathé, the company that provided major funding for the production, is French. However, the director of Africa United, Deborah Gardner-Paterson, has a Rwandan mother, and the premise for the film’s story came from Eric Kabera, a Rwandan who also runs Link Media, one of the companies involved in the production of Africa United (McVeigh and Thorpe, 2010). Therefore, Africa United does not have a set country of origin, as it is a multi-national production with multiple sources of funding and a cast and crew with a variety of nationalities and backgrounds. Former Pop Idol judge Neil Fox is Executive Producer (Africa United, 2010), while Emmanuel Jal, a former child soldier from Sudan, appears in the film in his acting debut (Africa United, 2010). These differences show that the production of Africa United has brought together people from many backgrounds.
When considering funding issues, and whether they impact on cinema as an institution, the market in which a film is to be released must be taken into consideration. Branston, G. and Stafford, R. (2010) believe that film industries without a large market benefit from public support, i.e. governmental bodies such as the UK Film Council providing funding towards production costs, which are often referred to as “soft money” schemes. Even Hollywood productions are often made in Canada, such as Scott Pilgrim vs. the World, which was mostly filmed in Toronto, as Telefilm Canada often provides indirect support through these so-called soft money schemes.
Another funding issue may be that of investors making a return on their investments. As £500 million is lost to internet piracy in the United Kingdom alone, (Woldt, CNN, 2009) investors will look to ensure a return on their investment. Video on demand services, such as Lovefilm (42% owned by Amazon) (Athow, 2010), are a way for viewers to stream films directly to their computers (for a monthly fee) without downloading them illegally.
Another possible course of action is to release a film at cinemas, on DVD and through internet download simultaneously (Rose, Observer, 2006), as seen in Michael Winterbottom’s The Road to Guantanamo.
In conclusion, there are many factors to be considered when funding films, many of which can affect cinema as an institution.
Word count excluding title and question: 932 words.
References and Bibliography
Africa United – The Story [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
Comic Relief – Partners with Africa United movie [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
McVeigh, T. and Thorpe, V. (2010) “Africa United reveals the other side of a continent” The Observer, 3rd October, p.23.
Internet Movie Database – Africa United [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 8 November 2010]
(As the Screen International journal website was unavailable while compiling the bibliography, an alternate website has been used to show the same article):
Screen International – Africa United [Internet]
Available from:
[Accessed 9 November 2010]
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