We want to create the conditions in which screen culture and the UK’s screen industries can thrive – across the UK and around the world.
We do this by:
- Growing and caring for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive.
- Offering the widest range of UK and international screen culture to audiences through our online and in-venue programmes and festivals.
- Using our knowledge to educate and deepen public appreciation and understanding of film, TV and the moving image.
- Supporting creativity and actively seeking out the next generation of UK creators.
- Working with the government and industry to ensure the continued growth of the UK’s screen industries.
We are committed to promoting appreciation of the widest possible range of UK and world cinema. We also establish, care for and develop accessible collections of moving image heritage.
We do this in collaboration with a range of partner organisations, screen agencies, local and devolved governments across the UK – working together to make sure BFI support is tailored to differing needs and political contexts of each of the devolved nations.
However, as content production and distribution globalise, UK-made work has become less prominent. That makes our role in encouraging and reflecting the UK’s diversity of cultures, languages, landscapes and perspectives more crucial than ever.
Through this strategy, we will amplify our focus on UK work. We will celebrate the full breadth of the UK’s screen culture past and present, and promote it internationally.
This focus will be evident in our cultural and educational programmes, our distribution and publishing, our heritage and contemporary acquisitions, and our support for the UK independent film sector. It will affect every part of how we champion UK independent creators through our funding, policy drives and international promotion.
Our work abroad is more critical than ever. We must ensure there is a healthy and harmonious domestic production sector and an open door to international collaboration. We must grow a strong global marketplace for audiences who enjoy the quality and diversity of UK screen culture. And we must promote robust knowledge exchanges with our international peers to explore the future of the moving image.
We will achieve much of this work in collaboration and partnership with other organisations around the world. The BFI is a founding member of the International Federation of Film Archives (FIAF) and European Film Agency Directors (EFAD). By working hand-in-hand with the British Council, the Department for International Trade and other agencies, we currently deliver a range of vital soft-power-focused activity which boost the UK’s cultural influence overseas. The BFI London Film Festival, for example, is a highlight of the international calendar and a key convening moment for creative talent and international business.
Finally, we will ensure that our thought leadership continues to be internationally recognised and opens up outstanding opportunities for collaboration. This applies across our publications, research, film productions, festivals and public programmes, heritage and educational initiatives, and diversity and inclusion programmes.