BFI America launches as BFI National Archive celebrates its 90th anniversary in Los Angeles
The archive has also brought six titles, including original 1975 Jaws print, to the TCM Classic Film Festival.
The BFI was out in force in Los Angeles this week to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the BFI National Archive, one of the world’s oldest and most significant film and TV collections, at a celebratory event at the British Residence on 23 April, at which BFI America was launched.
BFI America will champion the work of the BFI in the US and internationally, including the vital preservation and restoration work of the BFI National Archive, and maintain the organisation’s enduring partnership with US cinema and its vibrant film community. The distinguished BFI America board includes: Barbara Broccoli CBE (BFI Fellow), visionary filmmaker Terry Gilliam, Colin Walsh (founder, Varo Money Inc.), Deborah Schindler (producer), Penelope Wong (producer and marketing expert) and Dr Mali Heled Kinberg (UCLA professor).
The exclusive reception included special guests from the film world and was hosted by BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts, BFI Governors Scott Stuber and Laura Miele and BFI America Board Directors Penelope Wong and Dr Mali Heled Kinberg, by kind permission of His Majesty’s Consul General, Paul J G Rennie OBE. It was attended by BFI leadership including Executive Director of Knowledge Learning and Collections Arike Oke, Head of Conservation, Kieron Webb, and Francesca Vinti, BFI Executive Director Fundraising & Enterprise who also serves as Interim Chair of BFI America.
Following this, the TCM Classic Film Festival (24 to 27 April) will showcase six legendary films from the BFI National Archive’s collection, including a pristine original British release dye-transfer Technicolor print of Jaws, marking its 50th anniversary, introduced by BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts and featuring Lorraine Gary, star of the film interviewed on stage.
It will also present a rare 1945 nitrate release print of Michael Curtiz’s Mildred Pierce. BFI will also be hosting a Club TCM event at The Roosevelt Hotel, entitled ‘From Across the Pond: Sights & Sounds of the British Film Institute’ with Ben Roberts and special guest Guillermo Del Toro discussing the big discoveries, important restorations, and precious rarities that are reflected in the BFI National Archive’s rich 90-year history.
BFI National Archive films screening at the TCM Classic Film Festival
Blithe Spirit (1945, David Lean)
Thursday, 24 April at 9:30 PM at TCL Chinese 4
Restored by the BFI National Archive and ITV, supported by The David Lean Foundation. 35mm print made in 2008
Edge of the City (1957, Martin Ritt)
Friday, 25 April at 3:30 PM at TCL Chinese 4
35mm print preserved by the BFI National Archive
Mildred Pierce (1945, Michael Curtiz)
Saturday, 26 April at 12:15 PM at The Egyptian Theatre
1945 nitrate release print preserved by the BFI National Archive
The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933, Alexander Korda)
Saturday, 26 April at 1:15 PM at TCL Chinese 4
Restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation, in association with ITV and Park Circus. Funding provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation. Premiere of a new 35mm restored print made in 2024.
BFI Head of Conservation Kieron Webb will introduce the screening.
To Be or Not to Be (1942, Ernst Lubitsch)
Saturday, 26 April at 3:45 PM at TCL Chinese 4
Premiere of a new 35mm print made in 2021 by the BFI National Archive with funding from the National Lottery, in association with the UCLA Film & TV Archive and The Packard Humanities Institute, and the additional support of donors to the BFI’s Keep Film on Film campaign.
Jaws (1975, Steven Spielberg)
Saturday, 26 April at 6:30 PM at The Egyptian Theatre
1975 Technicolor dye transfer British release print preserved by the BFI National Archive.
BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts will introduce the screening.
Club TCM – BFI Special Event
From Across the Pond: Sights & Sounds of the British Film Institute on Friday, April 25 at 3pm at Club TCM at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel
Established in 1933 to encourage the artistic development of film, television and the moving image throughout the United Kingdom, the British Film Institute is a repository for the moving image history and heritage of the United Kingdom and other works of world cinema, such as Blithe Spirit (1945), a rare 35mm release print of Jaws (1975), Mildred Pierce (1945) on nitrate and others included in this festival’s salute to the BFI. Join this panel with BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts and legendary filmmaker Guillermo del Toro, to hear and see more of the big discoveries, important restorations, and precious rarities that are reflected in the BFI’s rich history as one of the largest and most important film archives in the world.
In addition to screenings at the festival, TCM continues its ‘Salute to the BFI’ with 2 nights of programmed classic British films on the TCM channel this June, drawn from the BFI National Collection and featuring filmed introductions by BFI Executive Director of Knowledge, Collections and Learning, Arike Oke in conversation with TCM host Alicia Malone. TCM will screen Piccadilly (1929, E.A. Dupont), The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933, Alexander Korda) and Gaslight (1940, Thorold Dickinson) on 10 June and I Know Where I’m Going! (1945, Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger) Naked (1993, Mike Leigh) and Women in Love (1969, Ken Russell) on 17 June.
“The UK and the US share deep and rich connections in cinema,” says Ben Roberts, BFI Chief Executive. “We are excited to celebrate our continued cultural collaboration and present these extraordinary treasures from the BFI National Archive to US audiences.”
Since its founding in 1935, the BFI National Archive has served as an essential gateway connecting audiences with the evolving history of cinema. From preserving early silent films on fragile nitrate film prints to collecting contemporary work via the latest digital innovations, BFI enlivens unproduced ‘lost’ works through scripts and production sketches, and cares for the stills and posters of global cultural touchstones.
BFI has long enjoyed deep connections to the American film community with its extensive holdings – including over 25,000 American film and television works – featuring rare and original release prints like Sidney Poitier’s groundbreaking debut in No Way Out (1950, Joseph L Mankiewicz) on a rare nitrate print, and Steven Spielberg’s masterpiece Jaws (1975) on an immaculate dye-transfer Technicolor print.
The BFI National Archive proudly collaborates with distinguished US organisations, including Martin Scorsese’s Film Foundation and the George Eastman Museum, embarking on exhaustive restoration projects as well as creating new 35mm prints, celebrating cinema’s lasting legacy. The BFI is a key cultural partner for American archives and film institutions, loaning rare archival prints for restorations and screenings including the Academy Museum of Motion Pictures, The Museum of Modern Art, SIFF Seattle, and TCM Classic Film Festival.
The ambitious endeavors of the BFI National Archive rely on the generosity and dedicated support of its funders and partners, who share its vision of preserving and celebrating cinematic heritage.