The first was a one day symposium 'Investigating Regional Creative Clusters', held at The Watershed in Bristol. I was interested in finding out more about the development of the British film industry over the last 20 years. An emerging theme relevant to my research was the impact of New Labour's neo-liberal approach to the arts and culture industries. This was repeatedly called out for being 'top down' and driven by capitalism and commerce, squeezing out diversity in filmic representations in the process. This is particularly relevant to the Harry Potter films, as Warner Bros were exactly the type of big studio producers that New Labour wanted to encourage to invest in the British film industry. In return for their UK based work on the films, Warner Bros. benefitted from incentives such as tax breaks.
I later attended the annual BAFTSS conference at the University of Kent. This was an opportunity to keep abreast of current issues of interest in the field, to meet fellow scholars and to find out about the BAFTSS community. It was particularly useful to learn more about the history of the British film industry through panels on 1960s British cinema, the Eastmancolor revolution and the completion bond guarantor company Film Finances. A highlight of the conference was a Q&A with Ken Loach and Tony Garnett who collaborated on many influential British productions including the television play Cathy Come Home and the film Kes.
Q&A with Ken Loach and Tony Garnett
Attending the BAFTSS conference with fellow Bristol PGRs and Professor Sarah Street
