Pictures, interviews and case studies of people and projects who have benefitted from National Lottery funding through the BFI are available on request.
National Lottery Cinema Weekend is an expansion on two previous Cinema Days (in 2018 and 2019) which enabled National Lottery players to attend film screenings for free.
During the COVID-19 pandemic the BFI has provided a package of measures worth over £5m to support the film sector including: funding for productions that have had to halt before completion; a resilience fund for festivals and exhibitors; a contribution to the COVID-19 Film and TV Emergency Relief Fund for freelancers; a sales company support fund; and funding flexibility for its partners and projects. The BFI is also administering the Culture Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas in England as part of the Government’s £1.57 billion recovery package for arts and cultural organisations.
About Camelot
- Camelot UK Lotteries Limited is the licensed operator of The National Lottery® and is committed to raising money for National Lottery Good Causes designated by Parliament. Camelot is not responsible for distributing or awarding these funds.
- On average, The National Lottery generates over £30 million each week for National Lottery funded projects. To date, £43 billion has now been raised and more than 635,000 individual grants have been made across the UK – more than 225 lottery grants in every UK postcode district.
- The National Lottery has awarded £80 billion in prizes to date and created more than 6,100 millionaires or multi-millionaires since its launch in 1994.
- For further information on Camelot, The National Lottery and its games, please visit: www.camelotgroup.co.uk and www.national-lottery.co.uk
- Players of all National Lottery games must be aged 18 or over.
About the BFI
We are a cultural charity, a National Lottery distributor, and the UK’s lead organisation for film and the moving image.
Our mission is:
- To support creativity and actively seek out the next generation of UK storytellers ● To grow and care for the BFI National Archive, the world’s largest film and television archive ● To offer the widest range of UK and international moving image culture through our programmes and festivals – delivered online and in venue
- To use our knowledge to educate and deepen public appreciation and understanding ● To work with Government and industry to ensure the continued growth of the UK’s screen industries
Founded in 1933, the BFI is a registered charity governed by Royal Charter.
The BFI Board of Governors is chaired by Tim Richards.
Supported by National Lottery funding, the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), is central to the BFI’s aim to ensure the greatest choice of film is available for everyone. Established in 2012 to build wider and more diverse UK cinema audiences for British and international film, FAN is a unique, UK-wide collaboration made up of eight Hubs managed by leading film organisations and venues strategically placed around the country. FAN also supports talent development with BFI NETWORK Talent Executives in each of the English Hubs, with a mission to discover and support talented writers, directors and producers at the start of their careers.
BFI FAN Film Hubs are:
- Film Hub Midlands is led by Broadway, Nottingham working in partnership with the Birmingham-based Flatpack
- Film Hub North is led collectively by Showroom Workstation, Sheffield and HOME Manchester
- Film Hub South East is led by the Independent Cinema Office
- Film Hub South West is led by Watershed in Bristol
- Film Hub Scotland is led by Glasgow Film Theatre
- Film Hub Northern Ireland is led by Queen’s University Belfast
- Film Hub Wales is led by Chapter in Cardiff
- Film Hub London is led by Film London
The BFI Audience Fund invests £5.6m of National Lottery funding each year to expand access and encourage greater enjoyment of cinema by connecting audiences with great films – in venues, at events and online. We do this by supporting:
- leading exhibition organisations, including film festivals, to deliver culturally rich and nationally significant programmes and events on a year round basis
- projects which help exhibitors and distributors bring the best of UK and international cinema to audiences across the UK through events, distribution releases, multiplatform distribution proposals, touring film programmes and more
- initiatives that address under-representation and are innovating audience development bfi.org.uk/audience-fund
The BFI Film Fund invests around £30 million of National Lottery funding a year into developing and supporting filmmakers with diverse, bold and distinctive projects, that have a cultural relevance or progressive ideas, and which reflect people from different backgrounds, as well as a range of activities to increase the opportunities for audiences to enjoy them.
Recent features supported include seven-time BAFTA nominee Rocks directed by Sarah Gavron, Ammonite by Francis Lee starring Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan, and Saint Maud directed by Rose Glass featuring EE BAFTA Rising Star nominee Morfydd Clark. Upcoming titles include Aleem Khan’s feature debut After Love and Harry MacQueen’s second feature Supernova,starring Colin Firth and Stanley Tucci, with films currently in prep, production or post such as ear for eye, the second feature from BAFTA winning director debbie tucker green. Joanna Hogg’s The Souvenir: Part II, her follow up to 2019’s BIFA
nominated release, is screening in Directors Fortnight at Cannes this year, alongside Ali & Ava, directed by Clio Barnard. Also at Cannes in 2021 is Mothering Sunday, directed by Eva Husson.