British Film Institute

About Us

The BFI is the lead organisation for film in the UK. We are a Government arm’s length body and distributor of Lottery funds for film.

The BFI was founded in 1933 and our mission is to ensure that film is central to our cultural life, in particular by supporting and nurturing the next generation of filmmakers and audiences. We combine cultural, creative and industrial roles, bringing together the BFI National Archive and BFI Reuben Library, film distribution, exhibition at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX, publishing and festivals with Lottery funding to film production, distribution, education, audience development and market intelligence and research. We provide Lottery funding for training and education through partners such as Creative Skillset and we have strategic partnerships for film across the devolved nations and funding in the English regions. We are responsible for UK film certification, which is the gateway to the UK film tax credit, for the Creative Europe Desk UK and for promoting British film and talent internationally.

In October 2012 we launched Film Forever, our strategic plan for film for 2012-2017: http://www.bfi.org.uk/about-bfi/policy-strategy/film-forever. The plan sets out our vision and initiatives for achieving it. Our strategy is based around three priorities:

- Expanding education and learning opportunities and bosting audience choice across the UK;
- Supporting the future success of British Film; and
- Unlocking film heritage for everyone in the UK to enjoy.

The BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter.