Puttnam hails ‘buoyant’ UK cinema

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Lord Puttnam said the success of Avatar has raised the bar

Lord Puttnam has said that UK cinema is in a robust state, but bemoaned the lack of film shows on television.

The film producer, speaking as president of the Film Distributors’ Association (FDA), said there was "a gap crying to be filled out" on TV.

Lord Puttnam, who produced Oscar winner Chariots of Fire, also said that 3D was a "game changer that’s here to stay".

He outlined that 2009 had been a recession-busting year for the UK box office, up 11% on the previous year.

Lord Puttnam also added that cinema as a medium had been successful in other countries around the world, depsite the economic turndown.

‘National obsession’

He said the coming months "show every sign of being another prodigious year".

Lord Puttnam, who received the Bafta fellowship in 2006, criticised the lack of cinema-themed shows on mainstream television, and said an opportunity to capitalise on a "national obsession" with film-going was being missed.

"Where on earth are the edgy magazine shows or the contemporary panel shows or audience participation shows, themed to the movies?

"The mass public interest in films – enjoyed by millions of people every week – is all but ignored in the current output of our national broadcasters."

Despite successful cinema admissions, "there can be not one shred of complacency," he added.

Lord Puttnam also made reference to the technological leaps and bounds being made in cinema at present.

"The analogue 35mm format, a global standard for practically a century, is now well on its way out.

"Just as a digital transition is under way in television, so it is too in the cinema," he said.