National Film Finance Corporation

The National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) was a film funding agency in the United Kingdom which operated from 1949 until it was wound up in 1985. The NFFC was established by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1949, and further enhanced by the Cinematograph Film Production (Special Loans) Act 1952, which gave the NNFC the power to borrow from sources other than the Board of Trade. The NFFC was abolished by the 1985 Films Act.

The lawyer Sir John Terry served as the NFFC's manager for 20 years from 1958 to 1978. During that time he helped to secure the backing for hundreds of films and which launched the careers of several prominent film directors, including Ridley Scott and David Puttnam.[1]

John Terry was succeeded in 1979 by Film maker Mamoun Hassan who changed the direction of the NFFC: "Hassan is the nearest thing to a whizz-kid that this country's film Establishment has yet produced. (Indeed, to be strictly technical, it did not produce him, since Hassan is Saudi Arabian and has had an independent and international career as a film-maker.) Hassan has replied to early salvoes aimed at his policies by firing back at his detractors with more spirit than one has ever known from the NFFC before, in its generation-long history." [Andrews, Nigel (2 June 1979). "New Direction for Film-makers". London: Financial Times.]. Prior to leaving the NFFC, David Robinson of The Times commented "... Certainly Hassan's five and a half years at the Corporation have been characterized by independence and vim. His enthusiasm, pugnacity, taste and passionate championing of an indigenous cinema have made him a significant figure in the progressive areas of British cinema...."David Robinson (18 September 1984). "Interview: Mamoun Hassan A shining example". The Times. Hassan left the NFFC in 1984 to return to Film Production.

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