On Monday 14 May 2012, the British Film Institute (BFI) announced the launch of a consultation on its future plans entitled New Horizons for UK Film. Now you have the chance to offer your opinion on it.
Posted: 10/03/2022
Following the demise of the UK Film Council last year, the Government has handed additional activities and responsibilities to the BFI, including the distribution of Lottery funding. This combined cultural, creative and industrial role has accentuated the need for the BFI to widen its strategic focus. Lord Smiths independent Review of Film Policy, A Future for British Film published in January 2012 also laid out a number of recommendations which were broadly accepted and supported by the BFI.
The BFI wants to bring new business thinking to its creative and cultural role, emphasising greater support to the whole of the UK and allowing greater access to film education. It also aims to build audiences and widen audience choice by opening up the UKs film archives. The BFI will be focussing on the skills needed to ensure British film makes an even greater mark internationally, sustaining existing jobs and creating new ones, and in particular, it will look at how producers and distributors work together.
As a result, the BFI has proposed that it focusses on 3 strategic priorities over the next 5 years:
- Expanding education opportunities and boosting audience choice across the UK by investing in education, learning and audiences;
- Supporting future success of British film by investing in film production, development and skills; and
- Unlocking film heritage for everyone in the UK to enjoy by investing in preservation, digitisation, interpretation and access.
At the heart of the BFIs proposal is a fresh approach aimed at setting a new agenda for the UK film industry supporting economic growth by stimulating inward investment in film and exporting British creativity and talent elsewhere in the world, in order to fuel a thriving UK film culture. The BFI is proposing to invest around £57million per year, with approximately £28million to be allocated towards supporting British film, £17million towards expanding education and audiences and £3million on film heritage.
Interested parties can visit www.bfi.org.uk/future to review the proposal document and offer their opinions before the deadline at midnight on 10 June 2012. A final version of the BFIs future plan is expected to be published in Autumn 2012.
