THE FUTURE OF THE BRITISH FILM INSTITUTE ON THE SOUTH BANKRedevelopment of the South BankThe British Film Institute is committed to creating a major new Film Centre on London’s South Bank. It will form part of a joint development with the South Bank Centre, which is planning an extensive new arts complex with a wide range of attractions. The process of transformation on the South bank is already underway. The BFI London IMAX Cinema, featuring the UK’s biggest screen, is now open. But this is only the first phase. Other attractions including the British Airway’s ‘London Eye’, the FA Hall of Fame, and the Tate Gallery of Modern Art, are coming soon. The new Film Centre, which will allow the BFI to serve much wider audiences, will contain a new National Theatre, a larger Museum of the Moving Image, an expanded BFI National Library, and a new headquarters for the BFI. A ‘Master Planner’ has been appointed to supervise the layout of the entire South bank arts complex. But coordinating the overall design of the new site in an intricate process and the completed Film Centre will not open before 2003. National Film Theatre - Throughout the process of the redevelopment on the South Bank, the National Film Theatre will provide a continuous, uninterrupted service of films and special events to its members and the general public. It is anticipated that in 2001, ahead of any construction work, the NFT will relocate temporarily to another cinema, probably in London’s West End. Subsequently, a brand new NFT with four screens will open in the new BFI Film Centre on the South Bank. Further information on the temporary relocation of the NFT will be announced as detailed plans are confirmed. Museum of the Moving Image - As part of the South Bank redevelopment, the Museum of the Moving Image building must also be redeveloped. Dismantling an entire museum is a complex procedure which can only be undertaken with the utmost care for the preservation of all the exhibits. To allow this to happen, the existing Museum building will close to the public on 31 August 1999, after the late summer bank holiday. From 1 September 1999 the Museum will be sealed off. The ‘take-down’ process will begin and continue for several months into the year 2000. At the same time the BFI will finalise plans for presenting exhibits and displays to the public in the period before the new Museum - which is to be nearly half as big again as the current one opens around 2003. | Starting next year, there will be a UK-wide touring exhibition with interactive displays and educational packs for teachers and school groups, visiting locations throughout the UK. In addition, the BFI is planning to join forces with the Science Museum in Kensington and the national Museum of Photography, Film and Television in Bradford to show collections from the Museum of the Moving Image in both these venues. During the redevelopment work, you will also be able to see some foyer exhibits in the BFI London IMAX Cinema. Altogether these arrangements will make the BFI’s museum and general film and television collections more widely available than ever before. Further details will be announced shortly. Meanwhile you can continue to enjoy the Museum of the Moving Image, open to visitors on its current site throughout August 1999. The BFI looks forward to welcoming you on the South bank, now and in the future. For more information on BFI services and current activities call the BFI events line on 0870 2404050 (national call rate applies) or visit www.bfi.org.uk |
