Film Council builds bridges

Org appoints four producers to improve relations with industry

By ADAM DAWTREY

LONDON -- Producer Andrew Eaton has been named as deputy chairman of the U.K. Film Council, with fellow producers Alison Owen, Marc Samuelson and David Sproxton also joining the board.

The appointment of four producers to fill the board vacancies marks an attempt to build bridges with the production community, which has been increasingly vocal in its criticisms of the org in recent months.

Eaton, the partner of prolific director Michael Winterbottom, campaigned for his seat on the board with a manifesto to improve the org's soured relations with the industry.

As deputy chairman of the British Screen Advisory Council, Samuelson is another who has been a persistent critic of the Film Council's often high-handed approach to the industry it is supposed to serve.

But the four appointments send a clear signal about the more emollient intentions of new Film Council chairman Stewart Till, who took over from the more abrasive Alan Parker this summer.

Sproxton is co-founder of Aardman Animations, whose credits include "Chicken Run." Samuelson produced "Wilde" and "Tom and Viv." Alison Owen's credits include "Proof" and "Elizabeth."