SUBMISSION 38
Memorandum submitted by Angel Costumiers
IS THERE A BRITISH FILM INDUSTRY?
1. Angels is the world's largest costume
house—supplying costume worldwide to film, theatre and television
productions. Angels was established in 1840 and is a family-run
business. Tim Angel is Chairman of the company, which has 130
employees across three sites—two in London and one in Paris.
2. In addition to supplying costume, Angels
runs a very successful training scheme for costumiers, a large
proportion of whom go on to work in the industry in a freelance
capacity on film productions.
3. A consistent 40% of our business is billed
overseas of which half is outside the EU.
4. In our opinion, there certainly is a
British film industry and its strength may not be as commonly
perceived and indeed much more needs to be done to support its
infrastructure.
5. Angels, together with other facilities
houses, is an integral part of the infrastructure of the British
Film Industry—supplying not only British companies but companies
worldwide—whether they are shooting in the UK or not.
6. As a facilities house, we receive absolutely
no assistance or support, financial or otherwise, from the Government.
We don't need money or subsidies, they can't help us. What we
need is assistance from bodies like the British Film Commission
as well as the Government in the form of market intelligence and
local contacts which would help us infiltrate and develop new
markets, for example in Eastern Europe, where it has become very
popular to make films. The fact that many countries in the EU
and in Eastern Europe now receive subsidies encouraging film-makers
to use these areas makes it more difficult for us to export competitively
into these countries.
7. The British Film Commission track projects
shooting worldwide in order that they can encourage film-makers
to use UK locations. There is a need for a process which allows
us all to pool information about these projects. Just because
a production is not going to shoot in the UK, doesn't mean that
they won't use UK equipment, suppliers or crews, all of whom play
a significant part in our "British film industry".
8. Angels is proud to be one of the major
suppliers representing our British film industry, an industry
that is not just about financing, producing and distributing movies
in this country. It is about supplying products and talents integral
to the worldwide film industry itself. Without this, there would
be no effective British film industry at all.
9. Angels have supplied costumes to at least
26 films that have won a Costume Oscar and many of these were
designed by British Costume Designers. It is British talent that
continues to play an integral part in our film industry and which
provides a very real financial contribution to the British economy.
Such value cannot be overstated or ignored.
ANGELS HAVE
SUPPLIED COSTUMES
TO 26 OF
THE OSCAR
WINNERS FOR
BEST COSTUME
DESIGN
| Hamlet | 1948
| Tess | 1980
|
| Moulin Rouge | 1952
| Chariots of Fire | 1981
|
| Gigi | 1958
| Gandhi | 1982
|
| Cleopatra | 1963
| The Last Emperor | 1988
|
| Dr Zhivago | 1965
| Henry V | 1990
|
| A Man of All Seasons | 1966
| Bram Stoker's Dracula | 1992
|
| Anne of a Thousand Days | 1969
| Age of Innocence | 1993
|
| Cromwell | 1970
| Restoration | 1995
|
| Nicholas and Alexandra | 1971
| The English Patient | 1996
|
| The Great Gatsby | 1974
| The Titanic | 1997
|
| Barry Lyndon | 1975
| Shakespeare in Love | 1998
|
| Star Wars | 1975
| Topsy Turvy | 1999
|
| Death on the Nile | 1978
| Gladiator | 2001
|
29 April 2003
| 
