BFI Film Forever

The BFI have announced a five year plan to invest almost £500m in to UK Film.

Called Film Forever, the plan sets out a three pronged investment into Production, Education & Audiences and Film Heritage, which includes an ambitious plan to digitize the BFI archive.

BFI Chair Greg Dyke and CEO Amanda Nevill are hosting receptions in Sheffield and London today to mark the launch of the plan. Greg Dyke stated:  ‘With film industry growth currently outstripping the economy as a whole, we want to invest to ensure continued success. A central part of Film Forever is to nurture business growth and cultural vibrancy across the whole of the UK, with a particular emphasis outside London. This is a real moment for film and a bold long term vision for the sector and I look forward to us from today turning all the discussion into action.’

Film Forever is a significant and strategic investment into developing domestic audiences and creating more jobs in this high performing sector. The five year investment will be paid annually and split across 3 main areas....

Production will receive a guaranteed £32.3m per year under Film Forever, with a minimum of £1m being added every year until 2017. This fund is set to focus on development of projects and will encourage production companies by funding them to develop their own slates. Aardman have also been brought in to lead an Animation Lab which will support and guide producers to bring projects to maturity.

Education & Audiences will receive £44.2m per year, with a focus on audiences outside of London. The BFI aim to equip 1000 community venues around the country to show a wide range of  films. The BFI have also partnered with Pinewood Studios and BAFTA to support the Youth Film Academy, giving 5-19 year old a film education.

Film Heritage is set to receive £9.9m per year, with the aim to digitise 10,000 productions. Plans are also in place for original BFI content (talks and events from the Southbank etc) to be available via a Smart TV app. Both steps are being taken with a view to launching a BFIPlayer by the end of the five year plan. The Smart TV app is being developed by in partnership with Samsung.

Since April 2011, the BFI have invested £42.5m across these three areas (production, education, heritage) and Film Forever gives a clear roadmap for how the investment will be spent, with a targeted approach.

The British Film Commission will also be given more richly deserved funding to support incoming productions and market Britain internationally. Funding has also been awarded to Skillset to continue developing the skills of the industry.

We will bring you more details on schemes as they are officially unveiled.

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