Shooting People co-founder, Jess Search, answered this question in The Times on Saturday, along with Tim Bevan (UKFC chairman) and director Alex Cox. The link is here: And if you don’t have access to The Times her article is also copied below for your reading pleasure. If you haven’t done so yet please vote and leave comments on our poll: http://shootingpeople.org/polls/7/ukfc Years from now, film people will ask each other: “Where were you when you heard that the UK Film…

Shocking is the only way to describe today’s news that Culture Secretary Jeremy Hunt is to abolish the UK Film Council. With an annual budget of £15m, the UKFC has been deemed unnecessary under the growing strain of the UK economic crisis. Ed Vaizey has said that they want to close it down by April 2012. So, is this going to affect YOU? What’s in store for the future? We’ve already kicked off the debate on Facebook and Twitter but…

Encounters Short Film Festival is one of the leading international festivals dedicated to film in its short form. Debates about whether to put your film online (To upload, or not?) is particularly pertinent to these festivals as shorts tend to have little or no hope of recouping costs, so filmmakers often feel less restricted to share their film on the web immediately. Unlike, say, a new feature you may have just made and you’re in the process of trying to…

Helen DeWitt, longtime Producer of the London Film Festival, has given us her feedback on our To upload, or not poll. Speaking on behalf of one of the world’s largest and most prestigious festivals – and one that upholds the premiere rule – we’re very pleased to welcome Helen’s comments. “One thing that filmmakers and festivals have in common is the desire to have work seen and appreciated by audiences. Of course there are numerous ways to do this and,…

Shooters, hopefully you’ve had a look at our latest poll – To upload, or not – and voted. We want to know what filmmakers and the industry think about the conflicting interests that lie in putting your film online pre or during its festival run. Is it great for the filmmaker to get loads of new eyeballs, or does it take the shine away from seeing it on the big screen first? There are mixed feelings about the premiere rule…

In light of our latest poll ‘To upload, or not’, we’ve asked Festival Programmer and Film Journalist Kate Taylor what her thoughts are on festivals that won’t accept work that already exists online. Is it a wise strategy or snobby game playing? Kate mounts her soap box to tell Shooters of her experience. By Kate Taylor You are a programmer and you’ve just had one of those brilliant moments where you’re at a festival and you have discovered a film…