Arthouse films reach wider audiences with cash support from UK Film Council

Oscar nominated ‘Capturing the Friedmans’, BAFTA winner ‘The Station Agent’, Michael Winterbottom’s futuristic love story ‘Code 46’ and acclaimed Japanese samurai epic ‘Zatoichi’ are among several films which are to receive Lottery investment to bring them to wider audiences across the UK.
Films supported in the latest round of the UK Film Council Distribution and Exhibition Fund’s Print and Advertising (P&A) Fund were able to expand their advertising campaigns and increase the number of prints available.
Andrew Jarecki’s Capturing the Friedmans, released on April 9 and distributed by Metro Tartan Film Distribution, is a documentary feature on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middleclass Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with a serious crime. It is backed by £66,764, enabling the film to be shown on 26 screens instead of 15.
Takeshi Kitano’s Zatoichi, released on March 19 and distributed by Artificial Eye, is a classic samurai epic that tells of a blind assassin desperately struggling to adhere to the strict code of the samurai, backed by £70,000, enabling the film to be shown on 50 screens instead of 30.
Thomas McCarthy’s ‘The Station Agent’, released on March 26 by BVI (UK) Ltd, tells the story of a man born with dwarfism who moves to rural New Jersey to live a life of solitude when his only friend dies, only to meet a chatty hot dog vendor and a woman dealing with her own personal loss. The film is backed by £100,100, enabling the film to be seen on 58 screens, up from 30.
Michael Winterbottom’s Code 46 is being released by Verve Pictures on September 17and stars Tim Robbins and Samantha Morton.
The film is a love story set in a recognisable and possible, near future. In this future cities are heavily controlled, only accessible through checkpoints. £1,565,063 was invested in the production of the film by the UK Film Council’s Premiere Fund. This £75,000 P&A investment will see the film released on 60 screens, up from an initial 30.
Denys Arcand’s Oscar winning ‘The Barbarian Invasions’, distributed by Artificial Eye, is receiving £49,900 to raise the number of screens from 25 from 35 prints.
The Fund is also investing £300,000 into Sir Richard Eyre’s restoration set comedy ‘Stage Beauty’ starring Billy Crudup, Claire Danes and Rupert Everett through its UK Film Distribution Programme.
Leon Herbert’s ‘Emotional Backgammon’, backed by £60,000 of P&A funding, also received £45,000 from the UK Film Council’s New Cinema Fund.
(GB)