Film the House is a parliamentary competition to find the filmmakers and scriptwriters of the future, while also raising awareness of the importance of protecting intellectual property (IP) rights among creators, legislators and the general public. Launched on 24 April, Film the House is run by MPs, with ALCS as one of its industry sponsors.

Film the House invites filmmakers and scriptwriters of all ages from across the country to submit their original material on any subject to their local constituency MP, who will choose one entrant per category to represent that constituency. A national industry judging panel will then preside over choosing the finalists and winners, who will go on to have their work screened in Parliament. Winners will receive prizes including equipment, work experience, professional advice from writers and industry experts, and/or a screening of their film.

The competition is being headed up by Nigel Adams MP, member of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee; Sir Kevin Barron MP, Chair of the All Party Film Group; and Lord Tim Clement-Jones, Vice Chair of the All Party Intellectual Property Group. With the UK film industry contributing over £4.6 billion to UK GDP and supporting over 117,000 jobs (source: the British Film Institute), the competition has huge cross-party support and provides an excellent opportunity for MPs to engage with the UK’s grassroots creative future, whilse emphasising the importance of protecting IP within the political agenda.

On the launch of Film the House, Sir Kevin Barron MP commented: “As the Chairman of the All Party Parliamentary Film Group I recognise the importance of intellectual property; it enables filmmakers and scriptwriters to earn recognition and financial benefit from what they create. It is hard to think of a service, product or activity which in some way does not depend on IP. I believe that the IP system must aim to create an environment in which creativity and innovation can flourish. I would urge you all to enter the Film the House short film competition as it is a great way of getting wider exposure for your films.”

Film the House is also being supported by leading figures within the film industry, with celebrated producer Lord Puttnam among those pledging his support. He commented: “The UK has always been a hotbed of cinematic talent, which is why it’s crucial to constantly remind legislators of the importance of protecting and supporting this rich cultural economy. Film the House is an imaginative parliamentary competition which manages to be fun whilst giving young creatives an opportunity to engage with their MPs, win fantastic prizes and all the while promote the importance of intellectual property rights. Those rights are the seed corn of your future – that being the case, I can only urge every would-be film-maker to give it a go!”

Co-sponsors of the competition alongside ALCS include 21^st Century Fox, the Motion Picture Association (MPA), NBCUniversal, Sky, Time Warner and Viacom.

Entrants can apply via filmthehouse.co.uk. This year’s applications deadline is 31 July 2017, with the awards ceremony in Parliament set to take place on 24 October 2017.

Twitter: @FilmtheHouse_UK
Facebook: @FilmtheHouseUK