A commitment to cultural diversity

Whoever you are and whatever your interest in the world of film and television, the British Film Institute can help you to experience, enjoy and discover more.

The bfi's Annual Review for the year 1999-2000 states:

"We embarked on a series of initiatives to establish cultural diversity as a core value across the bfi. We will seek to respond more effectively to the needs of the UK's many and diverse cultures and communities, and to promote public access to film relating to these diverse cultures."

Here is a selection of specific measures that we have taken to extend this promise:

We have published 'Towards Visibility', a vital part of our cultural diversity strategy, which focuses on our plans to engage more effectively with ethnic minority communities around the UK. The next stage of this strategy will focus on disability issues.

We have commissioned research to establish and better understand the views of African-Caribbean and Asian audiences UK-wide.

We contributed funding to UK film festivals in 2000 including Africa at the Pictures and the Asian Women's Film Festival. Tongues on Fire: Asian Women's Film Festival which could be seen at the bfi's National Film Theatre in March 2001 was unique in its focus on varied and controversial works produced by Asian female artists in Britain and abroad. A major strand was a tribute to the multi-talented Madhur Jaffrey.

We are presenting more ethnically diverse films in cinemas and on video/DVD, and the bfi's monthly magazine, Sight & Sound, is regularly covering work by Black and Asian film-makers.

We have offered a film journalism course for Black and Asian critics and writers.

In 2002 we organised ImagineAsia - a major celebration of South Asian cinema, which took place UK-wide.

In November 2005 we launched the Nu-Visions website as part of Black World to inspire new perspectives amongst young people and help them to discover ways to grow within the film and television industry.