I’m Nancy and am currently studying for my MA in Visual Arts and Culture at Durham University. During a month-long work placement at the BFI, I created a vlog to show other students how and why I use my BFI Player student subscription.
Through the BFI and Durham University’s partnership, everyone at my university has one, and my video is now available in the marketing pack given to all universities to help promote the service, which is kind of amazing!
I learnt that capturing my personal experience was key to creating a compelling and relevant video for my audience – students like me. I found thinking about the BFI’s mission a useful starting point and then identified some themes that aligned very well with what I was trying to say.
Quality
Because they are handpicked and curated by the BFI, the films I’ve watched on BFI Player have been really good and left an impact on me.
Choice
Having access to a range of perspectives feels like I’ve been released from the echo-chamber of films on some of the big streaming services. I love that on BFI Player I can watch foreign language films, cult cinema, director debuts and older classics.
Discoverability
BFI Player have been incredibly useful for my dissertation research, helping me to find films with similar themes. BFI Player is useful for many different degrees, like English literature and languages, not just film studies.
Connection
Whether it’s feeling closer to various issues or hearing different perspectives, BFI Player helps you to feel connected to others.
I wanted my video to emulate the values that underpin the BFI’s work while being a friendly and inclusive invitation to join in. I like to think of us as a community of student subscribers, and my biggest takeaway from making this video has been the value of authenticity in creating meaningful and relevant content.
I hope my experience helps other students to find out about their free BFI Player subscriptions and discover something different.
To enquire about our university partnerships and BFI Player access please email enterprise@bfi.org.uk.
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