The British Film Institute (BFI) is to lose £1.3m of its government funding over the next four years, it has been announced in the 2015 Autumn statement and spending review.
The BFI – which is the UK’s lead agency for film and is responsible for funding film production, as well as maintaining the national film archive, a network of cinemas including the BFI Southbank, and film education programmes – will have its grant-in-aid payment reduced by 8%. This is on top of a 10% reduction for the current 2015/16 financial year.
The BFI’s grant-in-aid payment, which does not cover the production activity funded by lottery cash, currently stands at around £20m. It is expected to decline to around £18.7m by 2020.
The BFI’s CEO Amanda Nevill called the decision a “better than anticipated result” in “a challenging financial environment”. She continued: “British film is thriving buoyed by our world-class talent and internationally competitive tax reliefs. The BFIs’ work in expanding education and skills opportunities, supporting our future film-makers, protecting our National Film & TV Collection and making sure we can all enjoy the very broadest choice of film is vital to sustain long-term growth.”
No announcements have yet been made as to which areas of the BFI will bear the brunt of the cuts.
