Anthony Minghella reappointed as Chair of the BFI

The Oscar and BAFTA-winning British filmmaker Anthony Minghella CBE, has been reappointed Chair of the British Film Institute (bfi), the UK Film Council has announced.
Minghella’s reappointment to the bfi for a second three-year term takes effect immediately. The bfi is funded by the UK Film Council to carry out a range of activities supporting and developing film education and culture in the UK.
Anthony Minghella said: “I am very happy to be able to renew my commitment to the bfi. These past three years have been a time of scrutiny and transition. The organisation is emerging from that period with real evidence of progress, notably with the coming transformation and extension of the National Film Theatre on the South Bank which, as a test-bed for a future flagship Film Centre, will enable audiences to sample a wider range of bfi activities, not least through revolutionary access to the National Film and Television Archive.
“It's an exciting moment in the history of the bfi and signals a clear sense of direction and a renewed mission to celebrate the art of cinema by preserving its past, contextualising its present and championing its future. Through its work at the Archive, at the NFT and the Times bfi London Film Festival (which celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year), through publishing, through distribution, through Screen Online and its commitment to education and media literacy, the bfi is able to make a difference to every citizen's experience of the moving image.
“I want to thank our excellent and passionate staff, an enormously dedicated Board of Governors and, of course, the Executive team led by the indefatigable Amanda Nevill, for working so hard to reorganise and refocus the Institute. It is an honour to play some part in the bfi's progress and I will continue to do my best to listen and learn from those working inside the Institute and from those who support us, in particular our partners at the UK Film Council. ”
Stewart Till CBE, Chair of the UK Film Council, added: “Anthony Minghella is one of the world’s greatest film writers and directors. His passion for film and his involvement as an active filmmaker is vitally important to both the bfi and to the UK Film Council. His commitment, eloquence and strategic thinking as Chair of the British Film Institute has been instrumental in positioning the bfi as a leading international film cultural and educational body.”
Minghella most recently wrote and directed Cold Mountain starring Jude Law, Nicole Kidman and Renée Zellweger. His best-known film to date is The English Patient which he adapted and directed from Michael Ondaatje’s novel of the same name. The film won more than 30 international awards, including 9 Academy Award Oscars including Best Picture and Best Director, 6 BAFTA Awards including Best Picture and Best Screenplay, the Writers Guild of Great Britain Award for Best Screenplay, and the Directors Guild of America’s Award for Best Director. His other films as writer-director include Truly Madly Deeply and The Talented Mr Ripley, both of which won numerous international awards and which between them were nominated for 5 Academy Awards and 10 BAFTA Awards.
Since 2000 Minghella has been joint-owner with Sydney Pollack of Mirage Enterprises which has supported a number of distinctive filmmakers and their projects including Tom Tykwer’s Heaven, Richard Eyre’s Iris and Phillip Noyce’s The Quiet American.
Minghella has also written extensively for theatre, television and radio. Prior to his career as a writer and director, Minghella lectured in the Drama Department of the University of Hull. He holds Honorary Doctorates from Hull, Southampton and Bournemouth Universities and continues to lecture and teach around the world.
Towards the end of last year Minghella turned to live theatre staging Puccini’s Madam Butterfly for English National Opera.
(GB)