What is a British Film?

What is a British Film?

A British film usually consists of any type of element, but is predominantly British orientated such as British Cast, Storyline, Life (past,present or future) or they base them on British role models. For example, Bend it Like Beckham is a film that is based around a girl from West London who enjoys playing football. This film also helps portray certain social issues.
Most British films also have British scriptwriters, producers, directors and if they know the right people, even investors.

There are 3 ways a film can be passed as being British

1) Test one is the 'marker test' which means the film must b made by a company that is registered and managed and controlled in the UK, in another state of the European Union/European.
2) Test two is the 'production test' which proves that 70% of the production cost of the film must be spent on filmmaking activity in the UK; in another state of the EU.
3) Test three is the 'labour test' which consists the 70% of one person whose nationality must be a non-commonwealth/EU agreement. They have to be be paid citizens to the country and sign an agreement.
No more than 10% of the film is allowed to compromise a sequel from a film that is produced by someone else.

Films must score at least 16 out of a possible 31 points in criteria such as whether its lead actors, director or crew are British.The rules will be relaxed to help encourage more investment in the UK film industry. Changes include expanding criteria to include other European Union states. For example, an actor can be from any country so long as their dialogue is in English - meaning the production would score points in the language criteria.

The cultural test which was introduced in 2007, is used to allow production companies to apply for UK film tax relief and is administered by the British Film Institute (BFI) on behalf of the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. The new test will require productions to score at least 18 points out of 35 and will include an increase in the points available for principal photography and using British visual and special effects companies.