British Film Institute Fellowship
Awarded foroutstanding contribution to film or television culture
CountryUnited Kingdom
Presented byBritish Film Institute
First awarded1983
WebsiteBFI Fellows

The British Film Institute (BFI) is a charitable organisation established in 1933, based in the United Kingdom. It has awarded its Fellowship title to individuals in "recognition of their outstanding contribution to film or television culture" and is considered the highest accolade presented by the Institute:[1] British actor John Hurt said the award was "the highest honour possible".[2]

The first awards were made in 1983, the same year as BFI National Archive's Silver Jubilee and the BFI's fiftieth anniversary, and as of February 2023, there are 91 Fellows.[3] Awards are not presented every year, but every award ceremony has been held in London, on occasion at the National Film Theatre as part of the BFI London Film Festival.[2] The inaugural ceremony honoured six recipients of the Fellowship: French film director Marcel Carné, British film directors David Lean, Michael Powell, Hungarian screenwriter Emeric Pressburger, Indian film-maker Satyajit Ray and American director and actor Orson Welles. The most recent Fellowship was bestowed in 2024 on Christopher Nolan.[4]

Following allegations of numerous sexual assaults and harassment allegations, American producer Harvey Weinstein was stripped of the fellowship that was originally awarded to him in 2002.[5]

Of the 91 Fellows, the majority (60) are from the United Kingdom, with 31 foreign recipients, mainly from the United States and France. There have been two African winners, both film directors, Malian Souleymane Cissé and Senegalese Ousmane Sembène while one recipient has come from each of Japan, India, Iran, Canada, and Australia.

Fellows

David Lean received the Fellowship in 1983
A man in a dark suit and striped shirt with a plain tie and a handkerchief in his breast pocket
American Orson Welles was one of the six inaugural recipients of the Fellowship in 1983.
Dame Maggie Smith received the Fellowship in 1992
A woman with dark curly hair in a white shoulderless dress
Irish actress Maureen O'Hara was awarded the Fellowship in 1993.
A man with grey hair in a dark suit, white shirt and grey tie, wearing glasses
Martin Scorsese became a BFI Fellow in 1995.
Dame Judi Dench became a Fellow in 2011
Cate Blanchett was a 2015 recipient of the Fellowship.
Spike Lee was a 2023 recipient of the Fellowship
Year Recipient Occupation Nationality Ref
1983 Marcel Carné Director  France [6]
1983 David Lean Director / Producer / Writer  United Kingdom [6]
1983 Michael Powell Director / Producer / Writer  United Kingdom [6]
1983 Emeric Pressburger Director / Producer / Writer  Hungary [6]
1983 Satyajit Ray Director / Writer  India [6]
1983 Orson Welles Director / Actor / Writer  United States [6]
1984 Sidney Bernstein Media executive  United Kingdom [7]
1985 John Brabourne Film and Television Producer  United Kingdom [8]
1985 Laurence Olivier Director / Actor  United Kingdom [9]
1986 Jeremy Isaacs Television Producer  United Kingdom [10]
1986 Deborah Kerr Actress  United Kingdom [10]
1986 Akira Kurosawa Director  Japan [11]
1986 Dilys Powell Film Critic  United Kingdom [10]
1987 Dirk Bogarde Actor / Screenwriter / Novelist  United Kingdom [12]
1987 Bette Davis Actress  United States [13]
1987 Elem Klimov Filmmaker  Soviet Union [13]
1988 Graham Greene Writer  United Kingdom [14]
1988 Vanessa Redgrave Actress  United Kingdom [14]
1988 Anthony Smith Producer  United Kingdom [14]
1989 Peggy Ashcroft Actress  United Kingdom [15]
1989 Gérard Depardieu Actor  France [15]
1989 David Francis Film Archivist  United Kingdom [16]
1990 Derek Jarman Filmmaker  United Kingdom [17]
1990 Krzysztof Kieślowski Filmmaker  Poland [17]
1990 Jeanne Moreau Actress  France [17]
1990 Fred Zinnemann Director  Austria [17]
1991 Alec Guinness Actor  United Kingdom [18]
1991 Leslie Hardcastle Art Administrator  United Kingdom [18]
1992 Richard Attenborough Director / Actor  United Kingdom [19]
1992 Maggie Smith Actress  United Kingdom [20]
1993 Clint Eastwood Filmmaker / Actor  United States [21]
1993 Denis Forman Television Executive  United Kingdom [21]
1993 Maureen O'Hara Actress  Ireland [21]
1994 Nicolas Roeg Director / Cinematographer  United Kingdom [22]
1994 Jean Simmons Actress  United Kingdom [22]
1995 Michelangelo Antonioni Filmmaker  Italy [23]
1995 John Mills Actor  United Kingdom [24]
1995 Martin Scorsese Filmmaker  United States [25]
1995 Robert Wise Director / Producer / Writer  United States [26]
1996 Michael Caine Actor  United Kingdom [27]
1996 Ken Loach Filmmaker  United Kingdom [27]
1997 Michael Parkinson Television Presenter  United Kingdom [28]
1997 Lynda La Plante Screenwriter / Actress  United Kingdom [28]
1997 Verity Lambert Television Producer  United Kingdom [28]
1997 David Puttnam Film Producer / Activist  United Kingdom [28]
1997 Sydney Samuelson Director / Cinematographer  United Kingdom [29]
1997 Thelma Schoonmaker Film Editor  United States [29]
1997 Alan Yentob Television Presenter / Producer  United Kingdom [28]
1998 Bernardo Bertolucci Filmmaker  Italy [30]
1998 Jeremy Thomas Producer  United Kingdom [31]
1999 John Paul Getty, Jr. Philanthropist  United States [32]
2000 Elizabeth Taylor Actress  United Kingdom [33]
2001 Robert Altman Filmmaker  United States [34]
2001 Lewis Gilbert Filmmaker  United Kingdom [35]
2002 Jack Cardiff Cinematographer  United Kingdom [36]
2002 Bob Weinstein Film Producer  United States [37]
2005 Abbas Kiarostami Filmmaker  Iran [38]
2005 Mike Leigh Filmmaker  United Kingdom [39]
2005 Ousmane Sembène Filmmaker  Senegal [40]
2007 Terence Davies Filmmaker  United Kingdom [41]
2009 Souleymane Cissé Director  Mali [2]
2009 John Hurt Actor  United Kingdom [2]
2009 Ridley Scott Director  United Kingdom [42]
2010 Danny Boyle Director  United Kingdom [1]
2010 David Rose Producer  United Kingdom [43]
2011 Isabelle Huppert Actress  France [44]
2011 Judi Dench Actress  United Kingdom [45]
2011 Ralph Fiennes Actor / Director  United Kingdom [46]
2011 David Cronenberg Director  Canada [46]
2012 Bryan Forbes Filmmaker  United Kingdom [47]
2012 Helena Bonham Carter Actress  United Kingdom [48]
2012 Tim Burton Director  United States [48]
2012 Richard Lester Director  United Kingdom [49]
2013 Philip French Film Critic  United Kingdom [50]
2013 Christopher Lee Actor  United Kingdom [51]
2013 John Boorman Director  United Kingdom [52]
2014 Al Pacino Actor  United States [53]
2014 Stephen Frears Director  United Kingdom [54]
2015 Mel Brooks Filmmaker / Actor / Comedian  United States [55]
2015 Cate Blanchett Actress  Australia [56]
2016 Hugh Grant Actor  United Kingdom [57]
2016 Greg Dyke Media Executive  United Kingdom [58]
2016 Steve McQueen Filmmaker  United Kingdom [59]
2017 Peter Morgan Screenwriter / Playwright  United Kingdom [60]
2017 Paul Greengrass Director  United Kingdom [61]
2019 Olivia Colman Actor  United Kingdom [62]
2020 Tilda Swinton Actress  United Kingdom [63]
2020 Amanda Nevill Chief Administrator of BFI  United Kingdom [64]
2022 Michael G. Wilson Film Producer of James Bond  United Kingdom [65]
2022 Barbara Broccoli Film Producer of James Bond  United Kingdom
 United States 		[65]
2023 Spike Lee Filmmaker  United States [66]
2024 Christopher Nolan Filmmaker  United Kingdom [67]

References

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  3. ^ "BFI Fellows". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 10 October 2017. Retrieved 21 January 2013.
  4. ^ "Christopher Nolan to receive a BFI Fellowship". BFI. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
  5. ^ "Harvey Weinstein stripped of British Film Institute Fellowship". BBC News. 19 October 2017. Archived from the original on 21 October 2017. Retrieved 19 October 2017.
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  30. ^ "Bertolucci, Bernardo". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 2 August 2011. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
  31. ^ "BFI Fellowship: 1998". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  32. ^ "BFI Fellowship: 1999". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 16 August 2011. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
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  37. ^ Hall, Sarah (21 October 2002). "Showbiz glitz at cinema's 50th anniversary". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 9 September 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2011.
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  39. ^ "BFI Fellowship: 2005". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
  40. ^ "Ousmane Sembène – continued". The Guardian. London. 5 June 2005. Archived from the original on 19 September 2014. Retrieved 17 May 2011.
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  55. ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (20 March 2015). "Mel Brooks gets BFI fellowship for comedy career". BBC. Archived from the original on 21 March 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
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  57. ^ Brown, Mark (23 February 2016). "Hugh Grant awarded British Film Institute fellowship". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
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  59. ^ "Certain Women, Raw triumph in London". Cineuropa. 17 October 2016. Archived from the original on 19 October 2016. Retrieved 18 October 2016.
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  62. ^ "Olivia Colman to receive BFI Fellowshipdate = 7 February 2019". BFI. Archived from the original on 7 February 2019. Retrieved 7 February 2019.
  63. ^ "Tilda Swinton to receive BFI Fellowship". BFI. 16 January 2020. Retrieved 16 January 2020.
  64. ^ "Amanda Nevill celebrated with BFI Fellowship". BFI. 14 February 2020. Retrieved 15 February 2020.
  65. ^ a b "'James Bond' Duo Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli Honored with BFI Fellowships". 17 June 2022.
  66. ^ "Spike Lee Accorded BFI Fellowship". 27 January 2023.
  67. ^ "Christopher Nolan to receive a BFI Fellowship". BFI. Retrieved 2023-12-04.

External links

BFI Fellowship recipients
Categories