The British Film institute, still searching for new leadership, needs someone to put quality before quantity
Wanted: a new boss for British movies.
Amanda Nevill announced in April that she was to step down as chief executive of the British Film Institute, but there’s still no anointed successor. Running the BFI these days is a real challenge, especially because, since 2011, it has also been in charge of allocating lottery movie funds – now a pot of £50m a year. This is in addition to overseeing the national film and TV archives, cinemas on the South Bank, the London film festival and a vast education programme. Names on the wish list include Nevill’s deputy Ben Roberts; Daniel Battsek, who runs Film4; Amanda Berry, head of Bafta; and Michael Jackson, the former controller of BBC One and Two, former chief executive at Channel 4, and, for the past 17 years, a TV and movie exec in the US. Could the one-time wunderkind return to the UK?
Cinema-going itself is in rude health in the UK – surprising and yet encouraging, given that there are so many rival streaming options. But British-made movies? I’ve long believed the UK has too much of a small-screen mentality towards films. So what should the BFI’s role be when competing with the likes not just of Hollywood, but the super-rich Netflix and Amazon? Ideally, by backing movies that are quintessentially British and yet will travel. Not easy. The BFI rightly put development money into the Oscar-winning The Favourite, but, please, can we avoid more tedious historical dramas like Mike Leigh’s Peterloo. The answer is to support fewer films but give each more money to boost their potential. Quality over quantity.
Source: Should a former wunderkind be persuaded to take British film’s top job?