Commissioner FactFile to Film Four

What is Film Four? What does it do? How did it start?

Film Four productions is a film production company who is owned by Channel 4 and the company has been responsible for the creation of many popular British films in the United Kingdom. Some of these films include 24 Hour Party People, Drowning by numbers and many more. Film Four also co-operates with other independent film production companies such as Warner Independent pictures.

Film4 was created at the inception of Channel4 in 1982. Film4 is also known as working with the most innovative talent in the UK, whether new or already established. It's output is distinguished by its voice as it resonates with audiences worldwide.

What themes are usually used? 

Film4 does not produce movies which are aimed for a family audience which shows that their target audience is usually teenagers or adults. Film4 has managed to create a reputation with this has most of their movies are not appropriate for children as some of their main themes include violence, drugs and gangs but can also include some comedy. For example: This is England includes the themes of youth corruption, racism and violence which mainly corresponds  to the main themes that is used by Film4.

This video shows an example of racism  as the little boy is saying racist slurs such as "Paki bastard" which shows how he has been influenced by his gang mates. Also, the clip is an example of youth corruption because it can be seen the boy stealing cigarettes and at such a young age, stealing should not be influenced as it will be with him for the rest of his life.
Film4 does this so that it can give examples of the real life as when the strikes were happening, it shows many people were changing the way that they acted and that they were being forced into crime.

In this scene from Trainspotting, it can be seen Renton, one of the main characters injecting himself with heroin which a theme that Film4 uses  often. This example from Trainspotting is good because as Film4 uses drugs as a theme, it could be a warning of how drugs can affect someone and cause them to nearly die which can be a message from Film4 against the use of drugs.








The Inbetweeners - The Movie is an example of when film4 works as a co-producer to help creating a comedy movie. This scene from The Inbetweeners denotes the characters dancing together in a comedic way which connotes that Film4 also includes comedy in their films other than serious topics such as drugs or gangs. As a result, it shows that Film4 also tries to make movies for family audiences and not just teenagers who are looking to connect.





What is its ethos?

Film Four's set of beliefs are very clear. Film Four believes in investing money on young talent to produce great future actors by placing them in recently created movies. Also, Film Four works with other independent film industries by paying 15-25% of the whole budget. Moreover, it believes in giving £500,000 and making around 20 films per year.