BFI Southbank Studio to be renamed NFT4
We’ve reviewed our signage, wayfinding and cinema names at BFI Southbank and, from June onwards, the Studio will be known as NFT4.
BFI Southbank has a rich history. Initially opening as the temporary Telekinema as part of the Festival of Britain in 1951, the venue moved sites and reopened in its current location under Waterloo Bridge in 1957 as the National Film Theatre. Over the next 50-plus years, it exhibited many landmark films, played host to an array of cinematic luminaries and launched both BFI London Film Festival and BFI London Lesbian & Gay Film Festival, now BFI Flare.
The building underwent extensive refurbishment in 2006, bringing the old Museum of the Moving Image space and the cinemas together for the first time, and as part of the BFI’s rebrand at the time, re-opened as BFI Southbank.
As part of our ongoing estate improvement strategy (including our current improvement works), we have reviewed our signage, wayfinding and cinema names, and from June onwards we will be bringing the Studio into the fold and renaming it NFT4. No longer a screen for purely artists’ film and video work as it was first conceived, and with newly raked seating and improved sightlines, this cinema is particularly popular with those wanting to catch up on recent new-release titles, and so it feels appropriate to treat it as equal partner to the other cinemas.
As we head towards our centenary in 2033, we want to celebrate our rich history, building on past initiatives such as our restoration of the original Norman Engleback National Film Theatre sign which lights up the side of Waterloo Bridge opposite the South Bank Centre. The cinemas will all retain their NFT naming conventions (NFT1, 2 and 3 – and now NFT4) and as some visitors won’t be so aware of our NFT history, we want to raise the profile of the venue’s illustrious past and will be looking to find sites around the venue and digitally to present some of the amazing photography of the historic building and the many stars who have visited over the years.
The original NFT sign design features heavily in our BFI London Film Festival identity and through BFI Southbank – and you can pick up related merchandise in the BFI Shop.