Lights, Camera, Bankrupt

FILMMAKERS in Hackney face a bleak future if new tax rules scare off investors, industry experts claimed this week. Laura Oliver reports.

The government has effectively closed a tax loophole that had allowed wealthy investors to back high-risk ventures and use any losses to reduce their tax bill.

But film producers in Hackney and across the UK are concerned that current projects will be affected by the new regime, which was introduced without notice.

Charles Rubinstein, general manager of The Rio Cinema on Kingsland High Street, said: “The proposed changes to tax relief are going to be particularly problematic for productions close to filming and will not make feature film production easier in the long term.”

Rubinstein added that more independent productions such as those shown at The Rio would be less affected.

“Filmmakers like Mike Leigh and Ken Loach have a very hard time getting finance in this country with or without tax relief incentives,” he said.

A spokesperson from the UK Film Council, the government-backed agency for film in Britain, said: “It isn’t just about film, it’s about clamping down on tax avoidance. Provisions have been made to exempt films on which production has already started.”

In January the government introduced a new tax credit scheme for films, which gives a tax break to filmmakers who spend at least 25 per cent of their budget in the UK.

But many industry insiders fear the latest move will cause a similar funding crisis to that in 2004 when the government closed a related tax loophole.

Around 40 films were affected including the Oscar-winning The Constant Gardener and The Libertine, starring Johnny Depp. Currently under threat is the remake of the St Trinian’s film - its financiers say it could be scrapped.

Hackney has had a long history of filmmaking since the success of the Gainsborough Film Studios in Hoxton’s Poole Street during the 1940s. Shoreditch, Hackney Marshes and Clissold Park are among the popular filming locations.

First time feature director Saul Dibb chose Hackney as the backdrop for his critically acclaimed Bullet Boy in 2005.

Felicity Jump, Hackney council’s film locations officer, said: “Filming in London brings both economical and cultural benefits.

“It brings tourists to Hackney and brings money into the borough, with many film crews filming in local properties, and making donations to user groups, resident associations, community groups and schools.”

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