Losing Our Stories: Why Britain Must Fight for Its Children’s and Family Film Future
Multi-award winning film and TV producer and CMF Executive Committee member, Ken Anderson is working with partners across the UK to strengthen the Children’s & Family Screen Sector. He offers a timely reminder that securing children’s media content on all platforms includes the big screen and that UK’s children’s and family film is of, not just industrial but vital cultural importance.
The United Kingdom has long been a powerhouse of children’s and family storytelling — from Roald Dahl’s mischievous worlds to Paddington, Harry Potter, and C. S. Lewis’s The Chronicles of Narnia. Yet much of this creative legacy has slipped from UK hands. These globally beloved properties are now largely owned or controlled by international corporations, meaning that the economic, cultural, and strategic benefits of their ongoing success flow overseas. At a time when our domestic production base is under strain, this loss of ownership highlights a deeper problem: the UK’s children’s and family screen sector is world-class in creativity but underpowered in investment, scale, and policy support.
Beyond Television — The Missing Piece in the UK’s Screen Landscape
Recent debate has rightly focused on the future of children’s television and the role of public service broadcasters in ensuring access, diversity, and representation. Yet one of the most powerful storytelling platforms — film — has been largely absent from that conversation.
Children’s and family film is where imagination, talent, and craft converge to create stories
that last for generations. Many of Britain’s greatest creative exports began as family films, yet unlike television the genre has no dedicated funding, no coherent strategy, and no consistent support. It remains the missing piece in the UK’s otherwise world-leading screen ecology.
A Sector at Risk — and an Opportunity to Lead
At this year’s Children’s Media Conference (CMC), the “Shaking Up the UK Children’s and Family Film Business” panel made one point resoundingly clear: our creative talent is exceptional, but our infrastructure is not. Despite strong international demand for family content, British independents struggle to access finance, development support, and distribution.
The Children’s Media Foundation (CMF) has responded by coordinating a collective effort to address this gap — uniting producers, broadcasters, policymakers, and investors behind a shared agenda. The CMF submission to Parliament argues for a cross-sector strategy for children’s and family media, with dedicated support for both live action and animation, and a renewed focus on UK ownership of intellectual property.
This is not just an industrial issue. It concerns cultural identity, soft power, and the right of British children to see their own lives, humour, and values reflected on screen. If we want a thriving, plural, and inclusive screen culture, we must secure its foundations now.
From Words to Action
1. Create a Dedicated UK Children’s and Family Film & Content Fund – a ring-fenced fund co-designed with industry to develop and produce home-grown IP.
2. Strengthen the Independent Film Tax Credit, SEIS/EIS and Related Incentives – improve access for smaller producers to attract co-investment and reduce risk.
3. Embed IP Retention in Public Investment – ensure that when public funds are used, UK companies retain underlying rights.
4. Build a UK-wide Skills and Talent Pathway – invest in specialist training for family
content, reflecting its unique creative and ethical demands.
5. Champion a National Distribution and Export Strategy – help independents retain
control of titles and revenues in the global market.
A Call to Reclaim Britain’s Storytelling Future
We face a simple choice: continue watching our best stories and studios drift abroad, or act with intent to reclaim Britain’s storytelling future. The creative foundations are here — generations of talent, a trusted reputation, and audiences eager for original, home-grown content.
Having worked across the UK’s children’s and family film and animation landscape, I’ve seen both the brilliance of our creators and the fragility of the systems that support them. That experience drives my commitment — through the Children’s Media Foundation (CMF) and beyond — to help shape a stronger, fairer, and more resilient sector.
This is a call for partnership, not protectionism. When British stories succeed, Britain should share in the rewards. The time has come to turn potential into power — and to keep our stories, and their magic, here at home.
Sky Kids British Screen Forum Annual Conference 2025