The Conservation Centre comes to the BFI Southbank
On Saturday 14 June, a piece of the BFI Conservation Centre was brought to life in the vibrant Atrium of BFI Southbank, as part of the BFI Film on Film Festival 2025. Over 150 curious and enthusiastic visitors joined us throughout the day to get hands-on with real film – guided by our passionate Film Operations and Film Laboratory teams.
Getting hands-on with film
Visitors had the rare opportunity to step into the shoes of a film conservator, using a rewind bench to handle reels of film under the watchful eye of our conservation experts. Whilst winding through different types of film, visitors learnt how a film conservator identifies a film and what to look out for when examining its condition. Visitors were very keen and curious to ask questions about a range of topics relating to our work, including the process of film restoration, working with nitrate film, how a film is repaired and how we preserve the collection.
It was a pleasure to meet so many enthusiastic film lovers, some of whom may just go on to become part of the next generation of film conservators.
A glimpse into the lab
This year the Archive film laboratory had the opportunity to exhibit and demonstrate its Bell and Howell Model C film printer, which is used to duplicate our film collection, and talk about the work that goes into producing new film prints. Once the mainstay of many commercial labs, this printing machine is getting on for 60 years old but is still capable of producing high-quality work.
Film on Film Festival attendees were keen to find out more about the film laboratory and film duplication processes undertaken at the Archive, and the other machines we have at our disposal, some nearly 100 years old. Having spoken to so many people and answered lots of questions, it seems clear there is a bright future and demand to continue watching films on film.
Bringing the Archive to the Atrium
Recreating a working conservation setup in the middle of BFI Southbank was no small feat. From transporting delicate equipment and film reels to carefully coordinating the setup, the event was a collaborative effort across multiple teams.
The BFI National Archive’s Archive Technology team packed and moved the Bell and Howell Model C film printer, two film rewind benches, and several cans of film to be used in the demonstrations, along with other items the film conservators and Film Laboratory team required for the day.
The Model C required particular patience and care. It’s always a little daunting moving such delicate and rare equipment but the team expertly transported it unharmed to the South Bank!
– BFI National Archive Film Conservation & Archive Technology Teams
RICHeS visit to the BFI National Archive
We recently welcomed a team from the Research Infrastructure for Conservation and Heritage Science (RICHeS) on a tour of the John Paul Getty Jr. Conservation Centre.
As well as examining the Archive’s facilities, the team also inspected the site that will house our forthcoming Moving Image Conservation Research Laboratory (MICRL).
Funded by a grant awarded by the UKRI Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) as part of the RICHES project, this unique facility will be equipped with state-of-the-art instrumentation dedicated to the scientific analysis of film materials, to improve understanding of material composition and deterioration processes of film, video and paper-based collections. Due to open in 2026, this £1 million investment will help safeguard UK moving image collections at the BFI and archive partners across the UK.
Learn more about the visit and our plans for the MICRL via RICHeS latest blog, available to read here.
– Alex Prideaux, Marketing & Events Manager (Our Screen Heritage)
Object of the Week launches
This week we were pleased to launch ‘Object of the Week’, a new editorial series that will showcase treasures from the BFI National Archive.
As the name suggests, every week we’ll be shining a spotlight on an object from the Archive’s collections. Highlighting the broad range of items we have in our holdings, the list of objects will include materials from our Special Collections, our moving image collections, and pieces of historic (and current) technical equipment used by the archive team.
In our first edition, we examine some big-statement interior decoration: 1950s wallpaper inspired by Powell and Pressburger’s classic film The Red Shoes. Read the full article here and look out for further articles on the BFI website every Tuesday.
– Alex Prideaux, Marketing & Events Manager (Our Screen Heritage)
The Inside the Archive blog is supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.
