bfi launches ‘vision consultation’

The British Film Institute (bfi) is launching a wide-ranging consultation of its new outline vision document, ‘A Good Time for Action!’
The vision is the result of six months' discussion and investigation through a comprehensive, on-going Strategic Review.
The bfi is now inviting feedback from over 800 organisations including national and regional agencies, exhibitors, distributors, archives, libraries, educational establishments, local authorities and government, as well as bfi members and the public, by February 20 2004.
The vision identifies key aims for the bfi which include making a stronger impact across the UK, engaging with wider audiences, operating more efficiently, and developing an internationally authoritative voice for film and television culture.
A new UK-wide approach to promote a better understanding of film and television is central to the vision. In collaboration with the archival, education and exhibition sectors along with local, regional and national agencies, the bfi will work with partners and provide support to initiatives, focusing on audience development and increased access to its Archive.
The establishment of a Trading Division is also proposed, to maximise essential funds for the bfi's activities and increase the bfi's reach and impact.
Other plans include a re-engineered National Film and Television Archive with a new emphasis on research and scholarship. A purpose-built landmark site in the capital (bfi Film Centre) to celebrate the art form of film is also envisaged; with a re-vitalised National Film Theatre site on London's South Bank to provide a broader range of services in the interim.
The vision and consultation process form part of the bfi's ongoing Strategic Review, which is due for completion at the end of March. bfi Director Amanda Nevill said: "The consultation aims to shape the detail of how we can best deliver the vision and we greatly welcome this opportunity to hear feedback and guidance from current and future partners across the UK.
"To achieve our objectives the bfi must be more efficient and more focused on priority areas in which we can make a real difference. Our aim is to ensure the bfi assumes its rightful place alongside the nation's leading arts organisations, as an admired and respected cultural body of the first rank."
(GB)