Blog

List title

• Five minutes with: Hafsah Naib

  Filmmaker, artist and founder of Working Class Films, Hafsah Naib answers our questions

• In focus: Natural beauty to see you through quarantine

  Are you isolating and missing the outside world? Fancy a day out without leaving lockdown? Films from our archive highlight beautiful scenery to tide you over.

• Community & Support: Short Support Salons

  Has Covid-19 stopped your Short Film Festival plans before they've even started?

• Community & Support: Festival Strategy Advice Sessions

  Do you have a question about the film festival circuit or need help with your feature film festival strategy?

• In focus: Happy Birthday, Shakespeare

  On UN English Language Day, we look to our film collection to explore how our national playwright speaks to our times.

• In focus: A celebration of health services on film

  As Covid-19 makes the world feel strange and new, it’s more important than ever to celebrate the NHS. Before 5th July 1948 when the NHS was launched, health services were very different.

• Five minutes with: Alegría Adedeji

  Self-taught filmmaker Alegría Adedeji on her directorial debut and watching her ideas come to life on set.

• On the ground: Jamie Dispirito at Outfest

  Writer/director Jamie Dispirito reports on a successful trip to Outfest in LA with his debut short film, Thrive, supported by a British Council Short Film Festival Travel Grant.

• In focus: More Films for Freedom

  Three new short films have been commissioned by BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, the British Council, and BFI NETWORK as part of More Films for Freedom.

• Five minutes with: Helen Blakeman

  Playwright and Screenwriter Helen Blakeman tells us how she got started in the industry and offers some advice.

• Five minutes with: Ed Sayers

  Filmmaker Ed Sayers talks about the 20th year of Straight 8, and how nothing's ever as bad (or good) as it seems.

• On the ground: Abena Taylor-Smith at the Pan African Film Festival

  Director Abena Taylor-Smith reflects on her trip to LA for the Pan African Film Festival, embracing spontaneity and what it's like to be introduced as a 'female filmmaker'.

• In focus: A renaissance for UK documentary

  We regularly work with festival programmers to uncover and showcase some of the most exciting new work being made by UK talent. Here, two industry experts offer their thoughts on the art of documentary in the UK.

• Five minutes with: Mathieu Ajan

  We talked to BFI Network Talent Executive and Bounce Cinema founder Mathieu Ajan about all things film.

• On the ground: Corine Dhondee at BronzeLens

  Filmmaker Corine Dhondee travelled to Atlanta, supported by the British Council, to attend BronzeLens Film Festival.

• In focus: British-made for the global village

  Examining the role of the British Council film archive collection in the UK's 'documentary movement'.

• Five minutes with: Morgan Quaintance

  Filmmaker Morgan Quaintance wonders about his career high - and tells us what he's working on at the moment.

• In focus: What’s great about UK short films?

  BFI National Archive curator Dylan Cave looks at the UK's short filmmaking expertise, past and present.

• On the ground: Jemma Desai at the BlackStar Film Festival

  The American festival of films by people of colour energised and inspired our Film Programme Manager Jemma Desai.

• In focus: A contemporary take on the British Council film archive collection

  Three short films, each inspired by the British Council film collection.

• ​Five minutes with: Abigail Addison

  The BAFTA-nominated producer spoke to us about animation, making contacts and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

• On the ground: Tega Okiti at FESPACO

  Tega Okiti reports on her trip to mark 50 years of the Pan African Film and Television Festival of Ouagadougou.

• In focus: Do you recognise anyone in the British Council film archive collection?

  With most of the archive unseen for the past 50 years, we're keen to find out if there are people who have a connection to any of the films.

• Five minutes with: Nikola Vasakova

  We spoke to Girls in Film founder Nikola Vasakova about career highlights, advice for new filmmakers and her next moves.

• On the ground: Maria Cabrera at BAM

  Maria Cabrera reflects on her time at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music).

• In focus: Made famous by the British Council film archive collection

  Find out about the illustrious filmmakers who had their big break working on our archive films.

• Five minutes with: Richard Squires

  We chatted to British filmmaker Richard Squires about his movie influences, Hanna-Barbera villains and the UK tour of his debut feature film, Doozy.

• On the ground: Taratoa Stappard at Māoriland Film Festival

  London-based filmmaker Taratoa Stappard looks back on his prize-winning trip to the Māoriland Film Festival in his birth town Aotearoa.

• In focus: Putting UK animation on the map

  What's next for UK animation? We spoke to three industry experts to find out.

• Five minutes with: Tega Okiti

  Producer, programmer and curator Tega Okiti champions letting curiosity be your guide and thinking outside the box.

• On the ground: Brian Robinson at the Seoul Pride Film Festival

  Brian Robinson, senior programmer for BFI Flare: London LGBTQ+ Film Festival, finds hope in a modern city where homosexuality is still taboo.

• In focus: The British Council film archive collection looks back on who we were

  Sarah Cole, Creative Archivist at Time/Image, the mastermind behind digitising the British Council film archive collection, explores the common themes of a united nation.

• In focus: The lowdown on This Way Up

  Three arts students from the BFI Film Academy share highlights from the film exhibition innovation conference, including their impressions of a vintage mobile cinema called Audrey.

• In focus: Cultural connections for games

  Exploring how games can reflect our rich culture.