Screen industry collaboration: The Knock – producing fiction with Creative England/BFI

Abstract

Using a case study of independent film, this article explores the identity and working practices of the academic film producer, examining the relationship with both industry and academia. For the practitioner / academic, a complex set of conditions are to be negotiated in order to succeed in producing drama alongside academic duties as the two-way focus challenges the market demands of drama production. Non-commercial funding sources enable independent filmmakers authentic routes to finance and distribution deals with government agencies, however diminishing finance and regularly changing criteria results, at times in selective funding in a postcode lottery. Students benefit from the practitioner /academic by gaining valuable skills and knowledge through real industry experience in the age of employability. However, the paper examines whether this is at the expense of experimentation and sufficient study of critical thinking, in industry driven curricula.