Emily Blunt and James McAvoy were among the many actors speaking out in an effort to save the UK Film Council.

It was announced last month that the Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) plans to axe the organisation in order to establish “a direct and less bureaucratic relationship with the British Film Institute”.

However, the actors insisted that the UKFC is vital to helping those in the film industry establish their careers.

“We all owe any success we have had in our acting careers, to varying degrees, to films supported by the UK Film Council. But it is not out of personal gratitude that we are dismayed that the UKFC is facing the axe; it is because we fear the impact on the British film industry as a whole,” they wrote in a joint letter published in The Daily Telegraph.“It is our camera crews, lighting experts, set builders and a whole host of other skilled people who give our film industry such an edge. Their expertise and experience, which the UKFC has done so much to foster, is the main reason why so many top Hollywood directors choose to make films here in Britain.”

They added: “We should think long and hard about getting rid of one of the major factors behind a great British success story.”

Others listed on the letter included Dominic Cooper, Ben Whishaw and Bill Nighy.

An online petition to save the funding body surfaced online shortly after the announcement and grew to contain over 14,000 signatures.

Source: Digital Spy

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