A unique The Rise and Fall of the UK Film Council provides a unique study of the making of film policy in the UK set in its political, economic and international contexts. The UK Film Council was responsible for supporting film in the UK for over a decade. What objectives did it pursue over time? How effective was the UKFC as a model of public support for film? And what strategic lessons can be drawn from its experience? As well as offering a critical overview of the political, policy and technological contexts which framed the organisation’s creation, existence and eventual demise, this book analyses the tensions between differing sectoral, commercial and cultural agendas, and between national and global interests in an increasingly transnational film industry. Drawing on interviews with leading film executives, politicians and industry stakeholders, including all the UKFC’s chairs (Alan Parker, Stewart Till and Tim Bevan) and its CEO John Woodward, the book provides a probing and an empirically grounded analysis of the rise and unexpected fall of this key and iconic strategic support body for film. At the same time it provides a timely and significant investigation into the contemporary policy environment for film in the 21st century.