The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) is a non-profit organisation which makes films and other media for children in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Originally it made films to be shown as part of
children's Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. The films typically were about 55 minutes long. Over time the organisation's role broadened and its name changed, first to the Children's Film and Television Foundation in the mid-80s
and to the Children's Media Foundation in 2012.
History
The Children's Film Foundation was formed in 1951 following the
Wheare report that criticised the suitability of American programming for Saturday morning pictures.
[ Mary Field was appointed chief executive.][ 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.][ The Foundation made around six films a year,][ with most lasting less than an hour and shot in less than two weeks.][ From 1953, the Foundation released each film to a different cinema circuit which was able to show the film for a year before passing it to the next circuit. With the film distributed through the four main circuits ( Associated British, Gaumont, ]Odeon Cinemas
Odeon Cinemas Limited, trading as Odeon (stylised in all caps), is a cinema brand name operating in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Norway and Greece, which along with UCI Cinemas and Nordic Cinema Group is part of the Odeon Cinemas Group subsi ...
and independents), the film would be on release for five years before being removed from release for a year and then re-released again. Following changes to the circuits and distribution patterns, in 1963, Gaumont and Odeon were grouped under the Rank circuit and the independent circuit was divided in two to retain four distribution groups.
The films featured future British stars including Leslie Ash, Keith Chegwin, Phil Collins
Philip David Charles Collins (born 30 January 1951) is an English musician, songwriter, record producer and actor. He was the drummer and later became the lead singer of the rock band Genesis (band), Genesis and had a successful solo career, ac ...
, Michael Crawford, Phil Daniels, Dexter Fletcher
Dexter Fletcher (born 31 January 1966) is an English film director and actor. He has appeared in Guy Ritchie's '' Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels'', as well as in television shows such as the comedy drama
Comedy drama (also known by th ...
, 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.[
The films also include early films from British directors such as James Hill, ]Gerald Thomas
Gerald Thomas (10 December 1920 – 9 November 1993) was an English film director best known for the long-running ''Carry On (franchise), ''Carry On'' series'' of British film comedies.
Early life
Born in Kingston upon Hull, Hull, East Riding ...
, Don Chaffey
Donald Chaffey (5 August 1917 – 13 November 1990) was a British film director, writer, Film producer, producer, and art director.
Chaffey's film career began as an art director in 1947, and his directorial debut was in 1953. He remained acti ...
, Lewis Gilbert and John Guillermin
Yvon Jean Guillermin (11 November 192527 September 2015), known as John Guillermin, was an English film director, writer and producer. Working both in the United Kingdom and the United States, he was most active in big-budget, action-adventure f ...
.[ 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.][
Some of the films were critically recognized, winning awards at the ]Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
, Moscow Film Festival and Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival (, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival held in Venice, Italy. It is the world's oldest film festival and one of the ...
.[
The films were also popular on US TV and in 16mm showings in public libraries in Germany, Japan, Canada and South Africa.][
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.] 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.[ Its last production was '' Just Ask for Diamond'' in 1988.][ 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
The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in the 1980s, in the '' Friday Film Special'' strand.
Frank Richard Wells (1903–82), second son of H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells (21 September 1866 – 13 August 1946) was an English writer, prolific in many genres. He wrote more than fifty novels and dozens of short stories. His non-fiction output included works of social commentary, politics, hist ...
and Amy Catherine Robbins, was a main executive at the CFF.
In 2012 The Children's Film and Television Foundation changed its name and broadened its role to become the Children's Media Foundation.[
Its archive is now held at the BFI National Archive.
]
Selected 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)
* '' Countdown to Danger'' (1967)
* '' River Rivals'' (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)
* '' Blind Man's Bluff'' (1977)
* '' 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
* Rank Film Library 16 mm Catalogue, 1978, (pp183–193)
References
External links
The Children's Media Foundation website
TV Cream's nearly complete listing of every CFF film
The Children's Film Foundation at the BFI
{{Authority control
British children's entertainment
Film organisations in the United Kingdom
1951 establishments in England
Organizations established in 1951
1985 disestablishments in England
Organisations based in the City of Westminster
Organizations disestablished in 1985
BAFTA Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema Award