17 cinema staff from across the UK were today presented with awards totalling over £7,000 in recognition of their efforts in preventing illegal recordings.
In a special awards ceremony held at Warner Bros HQ in London, the actions of every individual in disrupting or preventing the illegal recording of a film in their cinema were recognised.
Film theft in the UK, the vast majority of which stems from recording in cinemas, costs the wider film industry over half a billion pounds each year. Cinema staff are very much in the front-line in tackling this problem, and the vigilance and action of those rewarded is testament to their dedication and to the steps that the industry has taken, with the active support of the CEA and colleagues at the Film Distributors’ Association, to tackle this issue through a programme of training, information and rewards.
Those receiving awards were:
- Salimah Azim Adatia – Empire Slough
- Muhammad Imran Wattoo – Empire Slough
- Spencer Owen – Cineworld Aberdeen Queen’s Link
- Rachel Hewer – Vue North Finchley
- Destiny Okoh – Odeon Bournemouth
- Victoria Landale – Empire Newcastle
- Stephanie Mortimore – Cineworld Leigh
- Kevin King – Cineworld Leigh
- Parthiban Subburaj – Cineworld Wandsworth
- Siddharthayappan Rajkumar – Cineworld Wandsworth
- Grishma Bam – Vue Wood Green
- Danielle Carver – Empire Newcastle
- Richard Brammer – Odeon Manchester
- Paul Bannister – Odeon Manchester
- Gemma Humphreys – Cineworld Weymouth
Commenting, Kieron Sharp, Director General of FACT said:
‘The actions of those present today prevented the recording of films which would then have been uploaded to the Internet and made available to millions of people globally, harming the livelihoods of industry employees as well as the prospects of the films affected.”
Reflecting on the recent decision by Government to reject a recommendation from its own policy review that the recording of a film in a cinema theatre be made a specific criminal offence, CEA Chief Executive Phil Clapp said:
“Today’s ceremony reflects the determination of cinemas across the country to play their part in tackling film theft. While Government seemingly remains unwilling to give us the tools we need, we will continue to do all we can to support colleagues at FACT and across the wider industry in their efforts to disrupt and apprehend those who represent are a direct threat to jobs here in the UK and elsewhere.”
Further information on the activities of FACT can be found at: www.fightfilmtheft.org.uk.