A new lease of life for British film

From pop and fashion to football, films on show this month reveal homegrown cinema is in great shape
By Jason Solomons

The world film spotlight will shine on Leicester Square on Wednesday when the Bfi London Film Festival opens with the premiere of Ron Howard's Frost/Nixon. Written by Peter Morgan and starring Michael Sheen, it is a fitting and glamorous opener for the festival.

Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire, set in India, closes events 15 days hence, with the small matter of the new Bond, Quantum of Solace debuting in between. These are all British enterprises in various ways, emphasising our industry's prominent place in global cinema. But this year, alongside the high-end offerings, there is a stirring of British activity in and around the Square. Last year's festival had little domestic product to shout about - perhaps the most successful film in the New British Cinema selection was Boy A, which last week triumphed at the Dinard Film Festival. Boy A was never released here in the UK, showing only on C4. Now, 13 new films swell that section, with others including Michael Winterbottom's Genova, Steve McQueen's Hunger, Richard Eyre's The Other Man and Terence Davies's Of Time and the City

So, can it be true that, after years of stops, starts and stutters, we are experiencing the flourishing of a new screen generation? Has the new wave of production schemes, regional film funds and a widening of the feature film talent pool finally borne fruit?

I suppose the more crucial question remains: are any of these films any good? I came away from the Edinburgh Film Festival in June concerned that the low-budget British films on show had bleak commercial prospects. Glancing at the LFF line-up, I would say our national cinema's subject matters haven't changed much over the years - expect council estates (Shifty), criminals (Bronson), drugs (Better Things), pop music (1 2 3 4 and Telstar), football and street fashion (Awaydays). Despite such familiarity, there does seem to be a renewed energy and an increased, nationwide vigour for film culture: settings for these films include the Cotswolds, South Wales, Edinburgh (Richard Jobson's New Town Killers), the Wirral, Finsbury Park and the Isle of Skye.
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