Our culture

We’re committed to building an innovative, highly diverse, and digital organisation with creative storytelling at its heart. We will support the development of skills and new ways of working, and ensure no one is left behind.

A place of real passion and fandom, we are creating a culture together that empowers us to:

Go confidently

We listen and learn to lead. Challenging constructively and matching words with actions to stretch our artform, shape the industry and create meaningful change.

Think freely

We unleash our creativity and work flexibly. We stay curious and light on our feet, taking smart risks to bring joy to our audiences.

Share generously

We build expertise and share it. Like an enthusiastic friend, we exchange ideas and democratise thoughtfully to create extraordinary experiences for everyone, not the elite.

Bring it together

We go as one. Actively including and empowering, with trust and transparency at all levels. We pull in and pull together – all in, all heard – to create the greatest possible access and opportunity.

Working in a hybrid world

We are committed to hybrid working. We are creating a supportive and practical environment that facilitates a work where you can, when you can approach. This acknowledges both the huge positives this can bring to our people but also the challenges. It also notes the key members of our staff whose work must be undertaken on site.

Recognising that this is new territory for all organisations we will take a ‘test, learn and iterate’ approach. That way, we can respond effectively to the developing needs and opportunities this brings to us and our people.

We will also look at how this can support our ongoing efforts to open up opportunities to work for the BFI UK-wide.

Working with partners

The success of our strategy is dependent on the work of hundreds of individuals, businesses and organisations – including our National Lottery-funded partners – both across the UK and through our international collaborations.

We will always strive to be a good partner, and this means:

  • Seeking partners through open and transparent processes.
  • Being responsive to the needs of our partners.
  • Sharing information generously.
  • Only requesting the information that we need, and when we need it.
  • Paying others for their work in a timely fashion.
  • Recognising and crediting the contribution of others in our work.

Our commitment to inclusion

We champion everyday inclusion at the BFI, with the aim of:

  • Enabling the BFI to be a consciously inclusive employer of choice.
  • Enhancing the culture and environment for our people to deliver their work in a way that is inclusive, equitable and accessible.
  • Demonstrating leadership to the wider industry with pioneering interventions.

A clearly defined and communicated set of Inclusion Targets will help us to monitor and take greater accountability for our progress. They will give clarity and a clear direction to colleagues, partners and stakeholders.

Our Inclusion Targets are:

Disability* 18%
Ethnically diverse (London) 40%
Ethnically diverse (outside London) 30%
Gender (50–50 balance of male and female identifying within the gender binary) 50%
LGBTQIA+ (including those identifying outside the gender binary) 10%
Working class background 39%
*Including those with a longstanding physical or mental condition and those identifying as D/deaf or neurodiverse

These are our targets as of April 2023.  We regularly review our inclusion monitoring which includes the above targets to ensure our approach is relevant and up to date. See here for updates to Inclusion Targets [link to inclusion target page].