BBC theatrical features emerge from the same department responsible for single television dramas. This has long been a source of irritation for those who want the BBC to establish a theatrical arm to rival that of Channel 4. However, funded by the licence fee as it is, the BBC faces certain problems in undertaking purely commercial activities, and possesses neither an in-house distribution arm nor an international sales operation. BBC Films has made around ten theatrical features a year, usually in conjunction with other producers, and its output has included Face (d. Antonia Bird, 1997), Wilde (UK/Germany/Japan/US, d. Brian Gilbert, 1997), Mrs. Brown (UK/Ire/US, d. John Madden, 1997), Love Is the Devil (UK/France/Japan, d. John Maybury, 1998), East is East (d. Damien O'Donnell, 1999),
Ratcatcher (d. Lynne Ramsay, 1999) and Billy Elliot (d. Stephen Daldry, 2000). Its annual
budget was recently increased from £10m to £15m by an investment deal with BBC Worldwide, the Corporation's commercial arm, but it has decided to invest more money in fewer, bigger and more commercial films. Julian Petley, Encyclopedia of British Film
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