Dark Matter: Independent Filmmaking in the 21st Century

by Michael Winterbottom

"Eye-opening and addictively readable." Total Film

Who and what decides if a film gets funded? How do those who control the purse strings also determine a film's content
and even its message? Writing as the director of award-winning feature films including Welcome to Sarajevo , 24 Hour Party People and The Road to Guantanamo as well as the hugely popular The Trip series, Michael Winterbottom provides an insider's view of the workings of international film funding and distribution, revealing how the studios that fund film production and control distribution networks also work against a sustainable independent film culture and limit innovation in filmmaking style and content. In addition to reflecting upon his own filmmaking career, featuring critical and commercial successes alongside a 'very long list' of films that didn't get made, Winterbottom also interviews leading contemporary filmmakers including Lynne Ramsay, Mike Leigh, Ken Loach, Asif Kapadia and Joanna Hogg about their filmmaking practice.

The book closes with a vision of how the contemporary filmmaking landscape could be reformed for the better with fairer funding and payment practices allowing for a more innovative and sustainable 21st century industry.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction

208 pages, Paperback

Published November 30, 2021

Reviews

[Matthew Ogborn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I bought this book on the back of the feisty and enjoyable BFI London Film Festival talk with Winterbottom, Kapadia and Leigh. It was fun to read candid lockdown career reflections in this book from the various directors. The what ifs were especially fascinating as to which films they passed on or slipped out of their grasp. In terms of solving Winterbottom’s dilemma about the lack of British films and talent breaking through, putting down roots and thriving, I am not sure we are any nearer an answer sadly compared to more prolific countries.

[Jimmy Dean]

thought this was brilliant, insightful, both inspiring and infuriating - and then also a much needed call to arms about the future of filmmaking in Britain

[Mila · Rating 4 out of 5]

The beauty of this book lies in its simplicity. The author set a topic, dark matter = how the films that don't get made influence the films that do, and that remains the guideline for all the interviews, while interviewees have the freedom to interpret the brief as they want. This freedom is the strength and means that the book is about so much more than just dark matter. It is about the system of production, the system of funding. The circumstances of filmmaking for working in the UK in comparison with other countries. What is film? What is Television? What is Art? And who gets to decide? Each filmmaker interprets the brief in regards to their relationship with their craft, their experience of the industry and their personal interests. The selection of filmmakers is decent and there are loads of opinions of people who have a lot to say.
If interested in filmmaking, this is precious. And if interested in the environment of making films in the UK this is subtly informative. The filmmakers have tales of what works, what doesn't, what worked for them and perhaps most poignantly, that there is no well trodden path. In the end everything comes down to chance, luck, the people you know and so many other factors besides that.