The state of British film

As the BAFTAs approach, BBC News invites producer Michael Kuhn and Film Council Chief Exec John Woodward to hold forth on the state of the British film industry.

Kuhn:

Unlike their European counterparts, broadcasters in Britain have never really seen it as part of their duty to support film and that is one area where I would like to see change.

It is not a matter of their duty, it is a matter of the opportunity they are missing. Channel 4 came in and set up Film Four with £10m back in the early 80s - and that transformed the British Film Industry. A little money made a tremendous difference.

Woodward:

Britain loves the movies and the world loves the British film industry.

It's true the film production sector has gone through a very bumpy patch over the last 18 months, but we are now poised to reap the rewards - with nothing to fear except the British disease of talking ourselves down!