R+P Post 3: Our production and distribution institutions

We approached this brief as if from the perspective of a real production and distribution company. This meant that all of the decisions we made during research and development were influenced by the characteristics of those companies.

For our distribution company, we chose Film 4 Productions.

Film 4 Productions is a British independent film company. It is famous for producing, distributing and backing a large number of films, most of which have a dark, gritty tone and a 'kitchen sink' style, meaning they take place on a smaller scale and focus on people's domestic lives, such as at home or in the pub. An example of a Film 4 kitchen sink drama is the 1991 film Riff-Raff directed by Ken Loach.

We decided that because our film has a relatively closeted feel to it, as it is framed by the police-interrogations which take place in one room, it would fit in within Film 4's filmography. Furthermore, Film 4 has been associated with films that have targeted both young adult audiences, such as The Inbetweeners Movie, and fans of crime drama, such as In Bruges. 

For our production company, we chose Screen Gems.

Screen Gems is a studio production and distribution subsidiary company of Sony. Similar to companies like Fox Searchlight. Although they are famous for their co-production and distribution of horror movies, Screen Gems have released independent films that are a variety of genres. They have also co-operated with a Film 4 Production before with Attack the Block, another young adult film with a main cast of teenagers.

As our film is an independent film, it would most likely be necessary to receive help from the BFI for funding. Films that include some 'British flavour', for example British directors and actors, often receive tax relief or grants to make production of their film cheaper; schemes like this include the BFI British Cultural Test, which can offer 25% of qualifying film expenditure to films that have enough British actors, directors and locations to achieve 18/35 on their test. This money is sourced by the BFI from the National Lottery Fund, which would then be distributed to our film for financing.