Film at Eleven

Channel 4 is worried that their FilmFour channel will be forced to slash its commitment to European films… because of rules being proposed by the European Comission.

The commission’s new audiovisual media services directive is set to restrict advertising breaks to once every 35 minutes in televised films, news bulletins and children’s programmes.

This would force the FilmFour channel, which switches from being a pay-TV service to a free network next month, to schedule more commercial films such as Hollywood blockbusters to make up for lost revenues, Channel 4 said.

The rule is supposed to help support European films but, according to Channel 4’s Jonathan Simon, it will have the opposite effect.

Although the commission plans no restrictions on the 12 minutes of advertising an hour that broadcasters can insert into programming, they are unlikely to want to make ad breaks too long for fear of turning off viewers.

Creative industries minister, Shaun Woodward, has also attacked the proposals, saying that they would be “hugely damaging” for the industry and the UK in general.

“The fundamental flaw in this, even if we thought it was well intentioned, is nonetheless that it probably will not work,” Mr Woodward said. “Critically, I see it as doing huge damage to our growth.”

“We are really negative about it,” he added, speaking at a Westminster Media Forum seminar. “The more I look at it, the more I’m convinced it’s really a bad idea. In lots of ways it represents a very good example of where the EU goes wrong.

“[Media commissioner] Viviane Reding got it wrong, the commission got it wrong. We are right to be entirely negative about it.”

He said the planned legislation - a review of the 1989 Television Without Frontiers directive - would increase regulation on businesses that was “not desirable nor practical”.

Bizarrely, the rules also appear to cover blogs, charity websites and online games, according to Woodward, although Viviane Reding denies this:

“The proposal aims to cover audiovisual media services, and I stress media. It will cover services under the editorial responsibility of media services providers, the principal purpose of which is the provision of programmes with moving images, with or without sound, to inform, entertain or educate.

Richard Kelly, the writer behind the rather excellent Donny Darko has another film on the way. Southland Tales is an ensemble piece set in the futuristic landscape of Los Angeles on July 4, 2008, as it stands on the brink of social, economic and environmental disaster.

Among other things, the film is about the creation of a police state by the US government following a second major terrorist attack.

Southland Tales premieres at Cannes, which opens on May 17th - and is in competition for the Palm D’Or. Richard Kelly might not be there because his passport is being “held under review” because his full name - James Richard Kelly - is similar to that of James Kelly who is on a terorist watch list.

Where’s Kafka when you need him?