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London, 29 March 2005
FDA Celebrates 90th Anniversary with Inaugural European Film Distributors’ Forum, 50th ‘Cinema Days’ and a New Member.

Film Distributors’ Association (FDA), the trade body for UK theatrical distributors, is celebrating its 90th anniversary in 2005 with a special programme of events and activities.

Tracing the development of UK film distribution

Originally incorporated in 1915 as the Kinematograph Renters’ Society of Great Britain and Ireland (KRS), the new trade body’s stated aims were to watch, protect and represent its members’ generic interests via liaison with government and other bodies and by obtaining such benefits as railway concessions (for print transportation).

There were ten founding member companies. The local branches of Fox Film Corporation and Pathé have been members since 1918. The first KRS President – AC Lovesy of Ruffell’s Imperial Bioscope – resigned the Chair after two years for military duties. His successor, Edward Turner, co-founded one of the first British film renters at the start of the 20th century. Turner died aged 90 in 1962.

FDA Chief Executive, Mark Batey, said:

“The distributors’ trade body was created out of a compelling need at the time. The pioneer distributors used short films to demonstrate projection machines, the new hi-tech attraction for variety shows and funfairs. But by 1915, film was emerging as a fantastic storytelling medium in its own right, and the distribution of the properties separated as a trade from the supply of the hardware. It was always the distributors who created a demand for filmed entertainment among the public, just as they do today.”

The early distributors, who brought a professional discipline to a highly fragmented market place, shaped the British film business. They developed enduring protocols for public film presentation and weekly booking of prints. In 1915, with DW Griffith’s controversial epic, The Birth of a Nation, feature-length product began to displace strings of unrelated shorts as the core of the moving pictures programme.

Mark Batey continued:

“The immense contribution of the early distributors to establishing a viable film business in the UK, and the characters behind all this activity, are now long forgotten. On the occasion of our anniversary, we want to put this right. So, we’ll be publishing a brief history in print and online, looking back to the year 1915 and considering some of the major milestones along the path to 2005, the year in which celluloid finally starts to make way for pristine digital delivery.”

European Film Distributors’ Forum

FDA is also hosting the inaugural European Film Distributors’ Forum in London on Friday 15 April 2005. Representatives from 14 countries, from Poland and Estonia, via Malta and Holland, to France and Germany, will convene for a conference exploring generic issues affecting the distribution sector across the EU.

Chaired by FDA President, Frank Pierce, the forum agenda includes four sessions covering digital distribution; developing audiences; building sorely needed state support for distributors; and tackling the escalating problem of film piracy in the digital era. On the eve of the conference, FDA will host a reception for the film industry and the European delegates at The Criterion in London’s Piccadilly Circus.

50th Cinema Days

Later in 2005, FDA will stage the 50th Cinema Days event. Initiated in 1988, Cinema Days are four-day weekends of film previews and press conferences especially for the UK’s regional film media. Held three times a year at a regional multiplex, the events aim to boost the coverage of film and filmmakers in regional media – still an important task as 75% of cinema admissions take place outside the London TV market. The 50th Cinema Days runs from Thursday 6 – Sunday 9 October. Detailed plans will be announced nearer the date.

New member distributor

FDA also announces today that Tartan Film Distribution is joining the association. Tartan is the 15th current FDA member, in an association now representing 98% of its sector by market share.

Frank Pierce said:

“We are delighted to have Tartan on board in what is an auspicious year for us. Tartan has built a fine reputation as a distributor of quality films from all over the world, especially Asia.

We salute their commitment to broadening the cinema audience in this way and are sure they will make a strong contribution to FDA activities.”

Laura DeCasto, Tartan Films’ Managing Director, said:

“As the UK theatrical market develops and starts to embrace digital delivery, we felt the time was right to join the trade association, which is where the broad issues affecting our sector and the wider industry may be debated.”

For further information please contact:

Mark Batey, Film Distributors’ Association Ltd.
Tel: 020 7437 4383
Email: mbatey@fda.uk.net

Virginia Todd, Tartan Film Distribution Ltd.
Tel: 020 7494 1400
Email: vtodd@tartanfilms.com

Details of FDA’s membership, its current services and other information can be found at: www.launchingfilms.com and www.cinemadays.com