Colin Brown steps down as British Film Commissioner

Colin Brown will step down from his post as British Film Commissioner. He officially leaves the job tonight at a farewell party in Los Angeles tonight hosted by British Consul-General Barbara Hay.

The move doesn’t come as a shock since the office of the British Film Commissioner has recently undergone big change, moving from its home at the UK Film Council (now shuttered) to become rebranded as the British Film Commission, managed by Film London plus an advisory board chaired by producer Iain Smith. Speaking to Screen ahead of the April 1 handover, Film London’s Adrian Wootton said the structure of the unit was still be developed — “we’re still working things through,” he said then.

Andy Weltman, the BFC’s Executive Vice President, US Production, will continue to head up the US office in LA while Samantha Perahia, Senior Production Executive, will be first point of contact in the UK.

The BFC’s aim is to attract inward investment productions to the UK. Since Brown took the job in 2007 (taking over from Steve Norris), he has brought in films including Clint Eastwood’s Hereafter. Prior to becoming Commissioner, Brown was Chairman of Cinesite (Europe), MD of European Televisino Networks and MD of Molinare.

Brown said today: “This will be my last trip to Los Angeles as British Film Commissioner. I have been in that post for four happy years and have now decided to leave in order to do other things in the film business. The pleasure of serving in such a great job has been enhanced by the successes. Last year alone we broke the record for inward investment in the UK with almost $1.5 billion production spend. And, of course out of this activity very tangible financial and creative benefits accrue to all partners. That’s what I think we have all become, real partners in film production and the strength of that partnership should continue to grow as the service and benefits of the British Film Commission remain in place and the UK infrastructure continues to deliver great results. I leave behind a fantastic team in the safe hands of Adrian and Film London and I know that their joint efforts will continue to provide the highest level of service.”

Adrian Wootton, Chief Executive of Film London and the British Film Commission said: “Colin’s contribution to UK inward investment has been fantastic and he has made such a positive impact as the British Film Commissioner. Although we are extremely sad to see him go, I am very confident that the British Film Commission and its new Advisory Board has the talent and expertise to continue building on the unit’s recent success and 2010’s record breaking year.”

Iain Smith, Chair of the BFC said, “I want to congratulate Colin on his achievements over the last four years, and to thank him for making the handover to Adrian and Film London as seamless as possible. Adrian and the team will be carrying on Colin’s excellent work by continuing to improve the UK’s inward investment strategy, to ensure that we remain one of the most attractive countries in which to make international feature films.”