The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) was a non-profit organisation which made films for children in the United Kingdom originally to be shown as part of children's Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. The films typically were about 55 minutes long.
The Foundation was formed in 1951 following the Wheare report that criticised the suitability of American programming for Saturday morning pictures.[1][2] Mary Field was appointed chief executive.[1] The Foundation was initially funded by the Eady Levy (a tax on box office receipts), receiving 5% of the Levy and the initial budget was £60,000 per year.[1][2] The Foundation made around six films a year;[3] most lasted less than an hour and were shot in less than two weeks.[2]
The films were also popular on US TV and in 16mm showings in public libraries in Germany, Japan, Canada and South Africa.[3]
By 1980, attendances for Saturday morning matinées were dwindling and the Foundation's annual funding was reduced from £530,000 a year to £330,000.[3] The Eady Levy was abolished in 1985 and the Foundation made a few further films in the mid-1980s, by which time it had been renamed the Children's Film and Television Foundation.[4] Its last production was Just Ask for Diamond in 1988.[2] It made no films of its own after the mid-1980s, but it survived under its revised name, and in recent years has provided funding for other projects.
Rank Film Library 16 mm Catalogue, 1978, (pp183–193)
References
^ abcdefParkinson, David (30 October 2018). "5 things to know about the Children's Film Foundation". BFI. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
^ abcdefgRoberts, Andrew (September 9, 2010). "How the Children's Film Foundation once dominated Saturday morning cinema". The Guardian.
^ abcdFalk, Quentin (27 October 1979). "CFF faces new threat to survival". Screen International. p. 20.
^"CFF/CFTF". The Children's Media Foundation. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
^Shail, Robert (March 21, 2016). The Children's Film Foundation: History and Legacy. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN9781844578603 – via Google Books.
^"The Children's Media Foundation Ltd". Companies in the UK. Retrieved 8 August 2015.
External links
The Children's Media Foundation website
ScreenOnline entry for the CFF
ScreenOnline entry looking at some of the CFF's work
TV Cream's nearly complete listing of every CFF film
May 04, 2023
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This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Children s Film Foundation news newspapers books scholar JSTOR May 2017 Learn how and when to remove this template message The Children s Film Foundation CFF was a non profit organisation which made films for children in the United Kingdom originally to be shown as part of children s Saturday morning matinee cinema programming The films typically were about 55 minutes long Children s Film FoundationFormation1951 72 years ago 1951 TypeFilm and television productionHeadquartersLondon EnglandWebsitewww wbr thechildrensmediafoundation wbr org Contents 1 History 2 Selected filmography 3 Sources 4 References 5 External linksHistory EditThe Foundation was formed in 1951 following the Wheare report that criticised the suitability of American programming for Saturday morning pictures 1 2 Mary Field was appointed chief executive 1 The Foundation was initially funded by the Eady Levy a tax on box office receipts receiving 5 of the Levy and the initial budget was 60 000 per year 1 2 The Foundation made around six films a year 3 most lasted less than an hour and were shot in less than two weeks 2 The films featured future British stars including Leslie Ash Keith Chegwin Phil Collins Michael Crawford Phil Daniels Dexter Fletcher Sadie Frost Susan George David Hemmings Frazer Hines Gary Kemp Richard O Sullivan Linda Robson Pauline Quirke Sally Thomsett Dennis Waterman Carol White Jack Wild and Matthew Wright 1 2 The films also include early films from British directors such as James Hill Gerald Thomas Don Chaffey Lewis Gilbert and John Guillermin 1 It also used established directors such as Charles Frend and The Boy Who Turned Yellow 1972 was the last film production by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger 2 Some of the films were critically recognized winning awards at the Cannes Film Festival Moscow Film Festival and Venice Film Festival 1 3 The films were also popular on US TV and in 16mm showings in public libraries in Germany Japan Canada and South Africa 3 By 1980 attendances for Saturday morning matinees were dwindling and the Foundation s annual funding was reduced from 530 000 a year to 330 000 3 The Eady Levy was abolished in 1985 and the Foundation made a few further films in the mid 1980s by which time it had been renamed the Children s Film and Television Foundation 4 Its last production was Just Ask for Diamond in 1988 2 It made no films of its own after the mid 1980s but it survived under its revised name and in recent years has provided funding for other projects Many of its films dating back to the 1960s were shown on the BBC in the 1980s in the Friday Film Special strand 2 Frank Richard Wells 1903 82 second son of H G Wells and Amy Catherine Robbins was a main executive at the CFF 5 In 2012 The Children s Film and Television Foundation changed its name and broadened its role to become the Children s Media Foundation 6 Its archive is now held at the BFI National Archive Selected filmography EditMain article Children s Film Foundation filmography Bush Christmas 1947 The Stolen Plans 1953 The Dog and the Diamonds 1953 Soapbox Derby 1958 The Cat Gang 1958 The Salvage Gang 1958 The Adventures of Hal 5 1958 Hunted in Holland 1960 The Last Rhino 1961 Go Kart Go 1963 Runaway Railway 1965 Cup Fever 1965 Calamity the Cow 1967 Cry Wolf 1968 Mr Horatio Knibbles 1971 The Boy Who Turned Yellow 1972 Mauro the Gypsy 1972 Hide and Seek 1972 Paganini Strikes Again 1973 Professor Popper s Problem 1974 Robin Hood Junior 1975 The Firefighters 1975 The Man from Nowhere 1975 with Sarah Hollis Andrews and Ronald Adam One Hour to Zero 1976 Fern the Red Deer 1976 The Battle of Billy s Pond 1976 The Glitterball 1977 A Hitch in Time 1978 Sammy s Super T Shirt 1978 4 D Special Agent 1981 Tightrope to Terror 1982 Friend or Foe 1982 Gabrielle and the Doodleman 1984 Haunters of The Deep 1984 Terry on the Fence 1985 Out of Darkness 1985 Sources EditRank Film Library 16 mm Catalogue 1978 pp183 193 References Edit a b c d e f Parkinson David 30 October 2018 5 things to know about the Children s Film Foundation BFI Retrieved 12 November 2022 a b c d e f g Roberts Andrew September 9 2010 How the Children s Film Foundation once dominated Saturday morning cinema The Guardian a b c d Falk Quentin 27 October 1979 CFF faces new threat to survival Screen International p 20 CFF CFTF The Children s Media Foundation Retrieved 8 August 2015 Shail Robert March 21 2016 The Children s Film Foundation History and Legacy Bloomsbury Publishing ISBN 9781844578603 via Google Books The Children s Media Foundation Ltd Companies in the UK Retrieved 8 August 2015 External links EditThe Children s Media Foundation website ScreenOnline entry for the CFF ScreenOnline entry looking at some of the CFF s work TV Cream s nearly complete listing of every CFF film The Children s Film Foundation at the BFI Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Children 27s Film Foundation amp oldid 1151732286, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
