British Film Institute Fellowship
{{Infobox award
| name = British Film Institute Fellowship
| awarded_for = outstanding contribution to film or television culture
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| presenter = British Film Institute
| country = United Kingdom
| year = 1983
| website = [https://www.bfi.org.uk/strategy-policy/bfi-fellows BFI 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: British actor John Hurt said the award was "the highest honour possible".
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.{{cite web| url = https://www.bfi.org.uk/strategy-policy/bfi-fellows| title = BFI Fellows| publisher = British Film Institute| access-date = 21 January 2013| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171010214222/http://www.bfi.org.uk/about-bfi/senior-staff-governors-bfi-fellows/bfi-fellows| archive-date = 10 October 2017| url-status = live}} 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. 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 2025 on Tom Cruise.
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.{{Cite web | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41664814 | title = Harvey Weinstein stripped of British Film Institute Fellowship | date = 19 October 2017 | access-date = 19 October 2017 | publisher = BBC News | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20171021142139/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-41664814 | archive-date = 21 October 2017 | url-status = live }}
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.
{{clear}}
Fellows
File:Aankomst filmster Ann Todd en haar echtgenoot filmregisseur David Lean op Schiph, Bestanddeelnr 905-4605 (2).jpg received the Fellowship in 1983]]
File:Orson Welles 1937.jpg was one of the six inaugural recipients of the Fellowship in 1983.|alt=A man in a dark suit and striped shirt with a plain tie and a handkerchief in his breast pocket]]
File:Maggie Smith - Vintage (trim).jpg received the Fellowship in 1992]]
File:Maureen O'Hara Black Swan 3.jpg was awarded the Fellowship in 1993.|alt=A woman with dark curly hair in a white shoulderless dress]]
File:Martin Scorsese by David Shankbone.jpg became a BFI Fellow in 1995.|alt=A man with grey hair in a dark suit, white shirt and grey tie, wearing glasses]]
File:Judi Dench at the BAFTAs 2007 (cropped).jpg became a Fellow in 2011]]
File:Cate Blanchett Berlinale 2023 (cropped).jpg was a 2015 recipient of the Fellowship.|alt=]]
File:Spike Lee Cannes 2018.jpg was a 2023 recipient of the Fellowship]]
class="sortable wikitable plainrowheaders" |
scope="col" style="width:80px;"| Year
! scope="col" style="width:225px;"| Recipient ! scope="col" style="width:225px;"| Occupation ! scope="col" style="width:225px;"| Nationality !scope="col" class="unsortable"| Ref |
---|
1983
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Marcel|Carné}} | Director | {{flag|France}} |
1983
! scope="row"| {{sortname|David|Lean}} | Director / Producer / Writer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1983
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Michael|Powell}} | Director / Producer / Writer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1983
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Emeric|Pressburger}} | Director / Producer / Writer | {{flag|Hungary}} |
1983
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Satyajit|Ray}} | Director / Writer | {{flag|India}} |
1983
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Orson|Welles}} | Director / Actor / Writer | {{flag|United States}} |
1984
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Sidney|Bernstein|Sidney Bernstein, Baron Bernstein}} | Media executive | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1985
! scope="row"| {{sortname|John|Brabourne|John Knatchbull, 7th Baron Brabourne}} | Film and Television Producer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1985
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Laurence|Olivier}} | Director / Actor | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1986
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Jeremy|Isaacs}} | Television Producer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1986
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Deborah|Kerr}} | Actress | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1986
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Akira|Kurosawa}} | Director | {{flag|Japan}} |
1986
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Dilys|Powell}} | Film Critic | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1987
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Dirk|Bogarde}} | Actor / Screenwriter / Novelist | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1987
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Bette|Davis}} | Actress | {{flag|United States}} |
1987
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Elem|Klimov}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|Soviet Union}} |
1988
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Graham|Greene}} | Writer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1988
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Vanessa|Redgrave}} | Actress | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1988
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Anthony|Smith|Anthony Smith (producer)}} | Producer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1989
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Peggy|Ashcroft}} | Actress | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1989
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Gérard|Depardieu}} | Actor | {{flag|France}} |
1989
! scope="row"| {{sortname|David|Francis|David Francis (film archivist)}} | Film Archivist | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1990
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Derek|Jarman}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1990
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Krzysztof|Kieślowski}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|Poland}} |
1990
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Jeanne|Moreau}} | Actress | {{flag|France}} |
1990
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Fred|Zinnemann}} | Director | {{flag|Austria}} |
1991
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Alec|Guinness}} | Actor | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1991
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Leslie|Hardcastle}} | Art Administrator | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1992
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Richard|Attenborough}} | Director / Actor | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1992
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Maggie|Smith}} | Actress | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1993
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Clint|Eastwood}} | Filmmaker / Actor | {{flag|United States}} |
1993
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Denis|Forman}} | Television Executive | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1993
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Maureen|O'Hara}} | Actress | {{flag|Ireland}} |
1994
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Nicolas|Roeg}} | Director / Cinematographer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1994
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Jean|Simmons}} | Actress | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1995
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Michelangelo|Antonioni}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|Italy}} |
1995
! scope="row"| {{sortname|John|Mills}} | Actor | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1995
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Martin|Scorsese}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|United States}} |
1995
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Robert|Wise}} | Director / Producer / Writer | {{flag|United States}} |
1996
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Michael|Caine}} | Actor | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1996
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Ken|Loach}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1997
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Michael|Parkinson}} | Television Presenter | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1997
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Lynda|La Plante}} | Screenwriter / Actress | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1997
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Verity|Lambert}} | Television Producer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1997
! scope="row"| {{sortname|David|Puttnam}} | Film Producer / Activist | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1997
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Sydney|Samuelson}} | Director / Cinematographer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1997
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Thelma|Schoonmaker}} | Film Editor | {{flag|United States}} |
1997
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Alan|Yentob}} | Television Presenter / Producer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1998
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Bernardo|Bertolucci}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|Italy}} |
1998
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Jeremy|Thomas}} | Producer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
1999
! scope="row"| {{sortname|John Paul|Getty, Jr.|John Paul Getty Jr.}} | Philanthropist | {{flag|United States}} |
2000
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Elizabeth|Taylor}} | Actress | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2001
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Robert|Altman}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|United States}} |
2001
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Lewis|Gilbert}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2002
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Jack|Cardiff}} | Cinematographer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2002
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Bob|Weinstein}} | Film Producer | {{flag|United States}} | {{Cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/oct/21/filmnews.film | title = Showbiz glitz at cinema's 50th anniversary | work = The Guardian | location = London | access-date = 16 May 2011 | date = 21 October 2002 | first = Sarah | last = Hall | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140909232435/http://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/oct/21/filmnews.film | archive-date = 9 September 2014 | url-status = live }} |
2005
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Abbas|Kiarostami}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|Iran}} | {{Cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/apr/28/hayfilmfestival2005.guardianhayfestival | work = The Guardian | first = Geoff | last = Andrew | date = 28 April 2005 | title = Abbas Kiarostami | access-date = 17 May 2011 | location = London | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100314222353/http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2005/apr/28/hayfilmfestival2005.guardianhayfestival | archive-date = 14 March 2010 | url-status = live }} |
2005
!scope="row"| {{sortname|Mike|Leigh}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2005
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Ousmane|Sembène}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|Senegal}} | {{Cite news | url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/jun/05/features1 | work = The Guardian | access-date = 17 May 2011 | date = 5 June 2005 | title = Ousmane Sembène – continued | location = London | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20140919000000/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2005/jun/05/features1 | archive-date = 19 September 2014 | url-status = live }} |
2007
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Terence|Davies}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2009
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Souleymane|Cissé|Souleymane Cissé (film director)}} | Director | {{flag|Mali}} |
2009
! scope="row"| {{sortname|John|Hurt}} | Actor | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2009
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Ridley|Scott}} | Director | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2010
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Danny|Boyle}} | Director | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2010
! scope="row"| {{sortname|David|Rose|David Rose (producer)}} | Producer | {{flag|United Kingdom}} | {{cite web | url = http://www.c4film.co.uk/rose-in-the-pink | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110129203213/http://www.c4film.co.uk/rose-in-the-pink | url-status = dead| archive-date = 2011-01-29 | title = Rose in the Pink | publisher = Channel 4 | location = London | access-date = 16 May 2011 | date = October 2010 | first = Justin | last = Smith }} |
2011
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Isabelle|Huppert}} | Actress | {{flag|France}} | {{cite web|url=http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4fc75e5262421|title=Isabelle Huppert in conversation|publisher=British Film Institute|access-date=28 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170329142834/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4fc75e5262421|archive-date=29 March 2017|url-status=dead}} |
2011
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Judi|Dench}} | Actress | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2011
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Ralph|Fiennes}} | Actor / Director | {{flag|United Kingdom}} | {{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/26/we-need-to-talk-about-kevin-bfi?newsfeed=true | work = The Guardian | access-date = 20 March 2015 | date = 26 October 2011 | title = We Need to Talk About Kevin scoops top prize at London film festival | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141209022555/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2011/oct/26/we-need-to-talk-about-kevin-bfi?newsfeed=true | archive-date = 9 December 2014 | url-status = live }} |
2011
! scope="row"| {{sortname|David|Cronenberg}} | Director | {{flag|Canada}} |
2012
! scope= "row"| {{sortname|Bryan|Forbes}} | Filmmaker | {{flag|United Kingdom}} | {{cite web | url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bryan-forbes-bfi-fellowship-284813 | work = The Hollywood Reporter | access-date = 20 March 2015 | date = 25 January 2012 | title = Bryan Forbes Awarded BFI Fellowship | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150412140708/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/bryan-forbes-bfi-fellowship-284813 | archive-date = 12 April 2015 | url-status = live }} |
2012
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Helena|Bonham Carter}} | Actress | {{flag|United Kingdom}} | {{cite news | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/burton-and-bonham-carter-honoured-with-bfi-fellowships-8205460.html | work = The Independent | access-date = 21 January 2013 | date = 10 October 2012 | title = Burton and Bonham Carter honoured with BFI Fellowships | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130417031325/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/news/burton-and-bonham-carter-honoured-with-bfi-fellowships-8205460.html | archive-date = 17 April 2013 | url-status = live }} |
2012
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Tim|Burton}} | Director | {{flag|United States}} |
2012
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Richard|Lester}} | Director | {{flag|United Kingdom}} | {{cite web | url = http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/beatles-richard-lester-british-film-institute-beatles-hard-days-night-superman-ii-304133 | work = The Hollywood Reporter | access-date = 20 March 2015 | date = 26 March 2012 | title = 'Hard Day's Night', 'Superman II' Director Richard Lester Gets BFI Fellowship | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150412122402/http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/beatles-richard-lester-british-film-institute-beatles-hard-days-night-superman-ii-304133 | archive-date = 12 April 2015 | url-status = live }} |
2013
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Philip|French}} | Film Critic | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2013
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Christopher|Lee}} | Actor | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2013
! scope="row"| {{sortname|John|Boorman}} | Director | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2014
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Al|Pacino}} | Actor | {{flag|United States}} |
2014
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Stephen|Frears}} | Director | {{flag|United Kingdom}} | {{cite web | url = https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/19/london-film-festival-awards-leviathan-best-film-stephen-frears | work = The Guardian | title = Leviathan wins best film at the London film festival awards | first = Vanessa | last = Thorpe | date = 19 October 2014 | access-date = 24 October 2014 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141025105956/http://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/oct/19/london-film-festival-awards-leviathan-best-film-stephen-frears | archive-date = 25 October 2014 | url-status = live }} |
2015
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Mel|Brooks}} | Filmmaker / Actor / Comedian | {{flag|United States}} | {{cite web | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31982210 | work = BBC | title = Mel Brooks gets BFI fellowship for comedy career | first = Vanessa | last = Thorpe | date = 20 March 2015 | access-date = 20 March 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150321112453/http://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-31982210 | archive-date = 21 March 2015 | url-status = live }} |
2015
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Cate|Blanchett}} | Actress | {{flag|Australia}} |
2016
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Hugh|Grant}} | Actor | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2016
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Greg|Dyke}} | Media Executive | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2016
! scope="row"| Steve McQueen | Filmmaker | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2017
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Peter|Morgan}} | Screenwriter / Playwright | {{flag|United Kingdom}} | {{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/peter-morgan-crown-queen-bfi-fellowship|title=The Crown writer Peter Morgan CBE to be awarded BFI Fellowship|date=2 February 2017|work=British Film Institute|access-date=9 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211161011/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/peter-morgan-crown-queen-bfi-fellowship|archive-date=11 February 2017|url-status=live}} |
2017
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Paul|Greengrass}} | Director | {{flag|United Kingdom}} |{{cite web|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/paul-greengrass-bfi-fellowship|title=Paul Greengrass to receive BFI Fellowship at BFI London Film Festival Awards Ceremony|date=29 August 2017|work=British Film Institute|access-date=29 August 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170829150117/http://www.bfi.org.uk/news-opinion/news-bfi/announcements/paul-greengrass-bfi-fellowship|archive-date=29 August 2017|url-status=live}} |
2019
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Olivia|Colman}} | Actor |{{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2020
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Tilda|Swinton}} | Actress |{{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2020
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Amanda|Nevill}} | Chief Administrator of BFI |{{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2022
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Michael G.|Wilson}} | Film Producer of James Bond |{{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2022
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Barbara|Broccoli}} | Film Producer of James Bond |{{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2023
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Spike|Lee}} | Filmmaker |{{flag|United States}} |
2024
! scope="row"| {{sortname|Christopher|Nolan}} | Filmmaker |{{flag|United Kingdom}} |
2025
|Actor / Producer |{{flag|United States}} |
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
- [https://www.bfi.org.uk/strategy-policy/bfi-fellows BFI Fellowship homepage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201124125119/https://www.bfi.org.uk/strategy-policy/bfi-fellows |date=2020-11-24 }}
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20120127152700/http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/eventseries/5158 BFI Fellowship award ceremonies]
{{British Film Institute Fellowship}}
{{featured list}}
Category:1983 establishments in the United Kingdom