Private Ownership

The film industry is mainly split up in two:

-          Mainstream film industry

-          Independent film industry

These both form part of the private sector!

Mainstream film industry

-     The mainstream film industry is involved in the production and distribution of the films we are used to watch at the cinemas. These include Avatar, Die Hard, Titanic, Barman, and Inception.

-    These movies are generally distributed, but not necessarily produced by the biggest Film Studios, which are many times multinational companies. 

-    Some of the biggest studios in this business include:

o   Walt Disney

o   Warner Bors Pictures

o   Paramount Pictures

o   Universal

o   Sony Pictures

o   20^th Century Fox

Independent Film Industry

-     The independent film industry is made up of private companies that also produce and distribute movies that are many times not so popular as the ones done mainstream, due to budget constraints.

-    Prominent directors who have worked independently include Quentin Tarantino, Gregg Araki.

Funding in Mainstream Film

-     When we mention 20^th Century Fox or Warner Brothers, we might think that they primarily act as film producers. This is not generally true.

-    The companies provide lots of funding to film producers, making it possible for big budget movies to be done.

-    Example:  the success of Black Swan led 20^th Century Fox to provide the opportunity to director Darren Aronofsky to direct the upcoming Wolverine 2.

-    20^th Century Fox gave the opportunity to Aronofsky and his production company Protozoa film to produce the film.

-    However all or most funding will still be coming from 20^th century fox, and the movie when finished will be considered a 20 the century fox movies.

-   Profits for mainstream movies come from:

o   Cinemas (sometimes cover the while costs)

o   Worldwide distribution (eg DVD, VHS, Blu Ray)

o   Merchandise (toys, gadgets, key chains, stickers)

Funding Independent Film

-    Unlike mainstream film, independent film producers have to work really hard for funding.

-     An independent film is considered independent if less than 50% of its funding is provided by major film studios. 

-    Funding for independent film can come from:

o   Government agencies such as Malta film fund or UK film Council

o   Transnational, such as MEDIA program of the EU.

o   Donations

o   Co-production treaties between entities.

 The World Cinema Fund was set up as cooperation between up as a cooperation between the German Federal Cultural Foundation and the Berlin International Film Festival.

         It’s role is to fund movies from developing countries in order to promote cultural diversity!