LONDON --- The saga of the rival London film festivals has turned into a game of chicken, with the British Film Institute trying to hold its nerve in the face of mounting pressure to capitulate to the breakaway event.
The BFI issued a stern statement Thursday confirming plans to push ahead with its existing London Film Festival on the usual dates of Nov. 6- 23.
But it also announced a "joint research project" with PACT, which represents British producers, into the possibility of moving the event to October, introducing a competitive element and linking up with the pre-Mifed market screenings.
This is precisely what the breakaway London Intl. Film Festival is proposing to do. That fest is headed by Sheila Whitaker, who ran the London Film Fest for the past six years but was axed last fall under the BFI's "cultural renewal" policy.
Competitive advantage
PACT is heavily in favor of formalizing the pre-Mifed screenings, to benefit British producers, distribs and sales companies. It also believes there could be interesting advantages to linking the market with a competitive film festival.
PACT sources said they are not taking sides with Whitaker or the BFI and do not want two rival events. The obvious compromise is for the two sides to pool their efforts behind a single event in October.
But PACT was surprised by the BFI's statement confirming its plans to go ahead regardless with a November event this year.
"Any talk of another film festival in the autumn is premature, and it is surely in no one's interests to have two major events within such a short timetable," BFI director Wilf Stevenson said with apparent confidence.
But Stevenson's hand may be forced if Whitaker and her team succeed in their aim to poach all the existing sponsors from the BFI's event. Visa, American Airlines, the Evening Standard and the Guardian are all believed to be close to transferring their support to the new fest, although publicly none have yet stated a position.
Bringing pressure to bear
As a publicly funded body subject to intense political pressure, the BFI will find it very hard to continue with its current plans for an unaltered November event if Whitaker can raise viable private backing for her October festival.
London Film Fest director Adrian Wooton, who replaced Whitaker, said, "If a festival were fully funded through private investment that satisfied that BFI's cultural concerns about bringing world cinema to the widest audience, then of course we would consider backing it, but that's not my understanding of what's being proposed."
But according to one key observer close to both sides, it all depends on whether Whitaker can nail down the money. "If Sheila doesn't get the money in place, she's got a problem. But if she does, it will be very hard for Wilf to resist. They're playing a game of chicken with each other, and I don't think Wilf's got more than a month to maneuver before he has to deal with the BFI's board of governors."
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