A PROPOSAL for Wellington Town Council to take over the management of the successful Wellington Film Festival has been dropped and left on the cutting room floor.

Members of the council’s economic development committee met on November 13 where they discussed plans for next year’s third annual film festival.

But there was disappointment and shock when a report from the council’s external working group, chaired by Cllr Justin Cole, had suggested that as the authority was the main funder for the event it should take “ownership of delivering” the festival.

Cllr Keith Wheatley, who has been a key player in the festival since it was first talked about before the Covid-19 pandemic, said: “If you aren’t involved in it, you probably think the film festive just happens. It’s not as simple as picking out eight films and putting them on over three nights – there’s more to it than that.

“You need a diverse group of minds that can bring skills and ideas. I think it would be very damaging to do anything to make them feel as if they weren’t managing the final product.”

Cllr Wheatley added: “Edinburgh Council gives £1m to the Edinburgh Festival, but the council doesn’t manage the event because it’s got every confidence in the people who do run it. There’s a risk with tampering with a successful model – if it’s not broke, don’t fix it.”

Another film festival fan, Cllr Sean Pringle-Kosikowsky, said: “The festival provides low-cost entertainment in the town and brings the community together.”

Cllr John Thorne said: “I absolutely agree with what’s been said. I admit I was a bit sceptical about the film festival at first, but I’m a convert.

“Cllr Cole isn’t here at this meeting, but he supports the festival and he was thinking the council could have more control over the spending and perhaps run it rather than a bunch of film fans. But I’m sure that if Cllr Cole was here this evening, he’d be changing his mind.

“I trust the film festival people to do the job and deal with it. It’s a brilliant event and the film festival people do a very good job.”

Cllr Steve Mercer said he felt the festival should be all about celebrating movies on the big screen.

“I remember going to see Doctor Zhivago at the cinema and it was so packed that I had to sit near the front,” he reminisced. “The opening of the film with the burial scene – wow – the music sucked me in.

“The festival should celebrate the greatness of cinema and films that need to be watched on a big screen rather than on the television.”

Cllr Wheatley added: “I best explain that the film festival committee isn’t made up of a group of freewheeling film fanatics.

“There are agendas for our meetings and minutes are taken – we don’t just sit around talking about our favourite films.”

Councillors agreed to make £10,000 available to Somerset Film and Video Ltd for the film festival and that the council does not take on the running of it.