The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established in 1933, based in the United Kingdom. It has awarded its Fellowship title to individuals in "recognition of their outstanding contribution to film or television culture" and is considered the highest accolade presented by the Institute: British actor John Hurt said the award was "the highest honour possible".
17-652: The first awards were made in 1983, the same year as BFI National Archive 's Silver Jubilee and the BFI's fiftieth anniversary, and as of February 2023, there are 91 Fellows. Awards are not presented every year, but every award ceremony has been held in London, on occasion at the National Film Theatre as part of the BFI London Film Festival . The inaugural ceremony honoured six recipients of
34-681: Is a department of the British Film Institute , and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was founded as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren . In 1955, its name became the National Film Archive , and, in 1992, the National Film and Television Archive . It was renamed BFI National Archive in 2006. It collects, preserves, restores, and shares
51-482: Is the base for much of the restoration work, while approximately 140 million feet of unstable nitrate film and all the master film collection held on acetate or other media is kept separately at a BFI storage site at Gaydon in Warwickshire . Film preservation is an ongoing project among filmmakers, historians, archivists, museums, and nonprofit organisations to rescue deteriorating film stock and preserve
68-635: The films and television programmes which have helped to shape and record British life and times since the development of cine film in the late 19th century. The majority of the collection is British originated material, but it also features internationally significant holdings from around the world. The Archive also collects films which feature key British actors and the work of British directors. The collections themselves are accommodated on several sites. The J. Paul Getty, Jr. Conservation Centre in Berkhamsted , Hertfordshire , named after its benefactor,
85-788: The BFI National Archive was founded as the National Film Library in 1935 by Ernest Lindgren , who was the first curator. The BFI National Archive now comprises over 275,000 titles in total consisting of feature, non-fiction, short films (dating from 1894), 210,000 television programmes and some artists' films. It is one of the largest film collections in the world. Notable collections include: The archive holds 20,000 silent films including, Cecil Hepworth 's Alice in Wonderland (1903), and actively collects artists' moving images. In addition to moving image materials
102-572: The BFI's programme of artists' moving image commissions, most notably through the programme of the BFI Gallery , the contemporary art space dedicated to artists' moving image active at BFI Southbank between 2007 and 2011. BFI Gallery The BFI Gallery was the British Film Institute 's contemporary art gallery dedicated to artists' moving image housed within BFI Southbank , the BFI's flagship venue in London, previously known as
119-490: The Fellowship: French film director Marcel Carné , British film directors David Lean , Michael Powell , Hungarian screenwriter Emeric Pressburger , Indian film-maker Satyajit Ray and American director and actor Orson Welles . The most recent Fellowship was bestowed in 2024 on Christopher Nolan . Following allegations of numerous sexual assaults and harassment allegations, American producer Harvey Weinstein
136-708: The National Film Theatre. The space was funded by the BFI with Arts Council England support and opened on 14 March 2007, to coincide with the reopening of the site. Its programme of new commissions, events and associated artists' film screenings was curated by Elisabetta Fabrizi, BFI Head of Exhibitions. The programme included exhibitions by Michael Snow , John Akomfrah , Apichatpong Weerasethakul , Pierre Bismuth , Jane & Louise Wilson, Peter Campus , Patrick Keiller , Phil Collins, Matt Collishaw, Yvonne Rainer , Julian Rosensfeld, Michel Gondry , Deimantas Narkevicious, Mark Lewis. Film programmes linked to
153-611: The Special Collections hold the records of filmmakers and institutions. Significant collections include: Films and television programmes are acquired mainly by donation or, in the case of independent television, via funding direct from the TV companies. Emphasis is placed on British productions but whenever possible important and popular movies from overseas are also acquired. Films from the Archive have also acted as material for
170-540: The West Midlands, weaving archival footage from 1960 to 1981 with contemporary portraits of Birmingham. The film is an innovative mix of documentary and poetic essay and was described by Ken Russell, and experienced by visitors, as ‘mind blowing’. Julian Rosefeldt ’s 'American Night'; a complex, five-channel film installation by the Berlin-based artist that confirmed his reputation for lavishly produced work in
187-507: The balance between the political and the private in everyday life. 'The Yvonne Rainer Project' (2010) featured three of Rainer's works accompanied by cinema screenings of her seven feature films and an engaging video programme by contemporary artists exploring choreography for the camera. The final BFI Gallery exhibition was a playful return to the past created by Tate prize nominated Phil Collins. In Phil Collins: 'Marxism Today' audiences encountered film, video and photographic snapshots of life in
SECTION 10
#1732783966235204-666: The former East Germany offset by the illuminating recollections of teachers of Marxism–Leninism who lived and worked in the GDR. The Gallery was closed as part of the BFI's review of all its activities following the Government's decision to cut grant-in aid by 15% over four years. The space vacated by the Gallery was redeveloped to house the BFI Reuben Library which opened in 2012. A commemorative book, 'The BFI Gallery Book',
221-499: The gallery exhibitions included a retrospective of the films of Sergei Paradjanov and of Michael Snow . As stated in the BFI Annual Review 2010-11: The BFI Gallery has a deserved international reputation at the forefront of commissioning and exhibiting innovative and exciting artists working with the moving image. Since opening its doors in 2007 audiences have enthusiastically taken up rare opportunities to experience
238-599: The moving image. 'American Night' borrowed from the style and rich image library of the American Western to subtly question the ambitions of recent US foreign policy. Next in residency was yet another star of the American art scene, Yvonne Rainer with the first major European retrospective dedicated to this legendary American dancer, choreographer and filmmaker. Very much a major influence on the new generation of video makers and choreographers, Rainer's work examines
255-590: The recorded image. In recent years the BFI National Archive has completed a number of much anticipated restorations of a diverse range of film titles. This has included the Mitchell and Kenyon collection, which consists almost entirely of actuality films commissioned by travelling fairground operators for showing at local fairgrounds or other venues across the UK in the early part of the twentieth century. Other notable recent restorations include: The collection now known as
272-449: The work of worldclass artists such as Pierre Bismuth and Michel Gondry , Mat Collishaw , Apichatpong Weerasethakul and Jane and Louise Wilson . Major new exhibitions and retrospectives from a diverse and gifted range of artists took place, John Akomfrah , Julian Rosefeldt , Yvonne Rainer and Phil Collins . June 2010 opened with 'Mnemosyne', a pioneering film by John Akomfrah that movingly explores themes of memory and migration in
289-608: Was stripped of the fellowship that was originally awarded to him in 2002. Of the 91 Fellows, the majority (60) are from the United Kingdom, with 31 foreign recipients, mainly from the United States and France. There have been two African winners, both film directors, Malian Souleymane Cissé and Senegalese Ousmane Sembène while one recipient has come from each of Japan, India, Iran, Canada, and Australia. BFI National Archive The BFI National Archive
#234765