BFI, the British Film Institute, is an organization that promotes film and television making in the UK. The company uses the National Lottery Fund to help fund UK films from the development of the film to its production and distribution, helping to enrich UK cinema by supporting smaller film makers to have their films released and put into cinemas. This is important as it ensures a more diverse range of topics and stories are shared in the UK film industry which usually is hidden behind Hollywood.
The BFI look to fund films that help to develop the British film industry through new emerging talent that reflects diversity within the UK and has potential impact culturally, socially, and commercially. This is found through the film's representation and making sure it is inclusive, and its audience reach in order to widen the range of voices seen and heard. The funding scheme also seeks to support projects that take creative risks, especially with the early development of careers in film. The BFI additionally have specific diversity standards that a film much meet when applying for funding, these are called their 'core priorities' which include equity, diversity and inclusion.
Founded in 1933, the BFI sought to encourage the development of film and television in the UK and is mainly funded by the department for digital, culture, media and sport by the government and the National Lottery. The National Lottery was founded in 1994, funding more than 670,000 projects and raising over £46 billion for good causes/charities solely through the sales of lottery tickets.
Films such as ‘Slumdog millionaire’ and ‘The Kings Speech’ are examples of films funded by the BFI that were extremely successful, with Slumdog Millionaire winning 8 Academy Awards including best picture and The Kings speech grossing 427.4 million USD. Although these films, and many more funded by the BFI, were successful regarding the box office and awards, it is not their aim to generate more profit for themselves, but rather to create meaningful British films that value inclusivity, seeing themselves as a cultural charity.
The BFI is extremely important for the British film industry to survive in order to contribute to British culture and to help promote and create an accurate representation and depiction within the media of British culture that may not usually be talked about, opening people's eyes to issues and places they may not have heard about before and enabling different voices and opinions of the UK to be heard. With funding these films, powerful political and social messages can be brought to the mainstream, teaching people about underrepresented communities in the UK.
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