ATTENBOROUGH HONOURS

Do films matter outside London? Oh, yes they do. And now the towns and cities - and, especially, the film critics - outside the Big Smoke have their own Awards to celebrate.

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Yes, London alone accounts for 25% of the country’s 160 millions tickets sold annually. That’s very impressive. No queston.

But no one should be blinded by the way the capital spins this fact. To find the truth, it needs to be flipped. What it really means, what actually matters is that 75% of the tickets – 120 millions tickets! – are sold outside London.

Put bluntly: Despite the capital’s swagger, three-quarters of film audiences live elsewhere.

So who’s a big boy now?

And finally the vibrancy of this widespread film culture gets some reward with a brand new set of annual film awards, the UK Regional Critics Awards.

Actually this is the second year for these Regional Awards. What distinguishes them this year is that they have been re-named The Richard Attenborough Film Awards.

This new title simultaneously gives welcome due to one of the greatest of Britain’s actors and directors (he’s been in the game 65 yeasrs) and, vice versa, lends his prestigious name to a clutch of Awards which are likely to grow in importance in the years to come.

There are six categories for the 2008 Attenborough Awards: Best Film, Best Filmmaker, Best Actor, Best Actress, Rising Star and Best Screenwriter.

Some, perhaps many of the contenders are bound to mirror the tastes in London's various awards, including Atonement (main photo), but hopefully the Regions will also throw up a few surprises, offering support to smaller pictures, like Glasgow title The Flying Scotman (photo above).

Qualifying journalists can vote online …. www.cinema days.com – from January 4 to 27, with the results to be announced on January, 2008.

Filed December 17, 2007.