03/10/2011

The industry events at the 55th BFI London Film Festival (October 12-27) are back in force along with some new initiatives to help British filmmakers.

Besides regulars like cross media forum Power To The Pixel and the annual Production Finance Market, one of this year’s new initiatives is Research and Policymaking for Film, a one-day symposium that brings together film policymakers and film academics to discuss new ways to create research opportunities and informed policymaking.

The festival has also teamed with the British Council Film Department to bring in more overseas festival programmers and give them the opportunity to interact with British filmmakers. The festival has also joined hands with Festival Scope, the on demand service for film professionals worldwide, to make several titles from the British and Experimenta sections available to buyers and programmers from around the world.

This year, for the first time, the Mayor of London supports the festival’s industry programme.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said, “London’s growing film market brings key financiers and producers to the capital and nurtures great home grown talent. Our own film industry makes a vital contribution to the city's economy, last year generating approximately £866m in feature film production spend alone. It's been extremely gratifying to see home produced films selected for this year's BFI London Film Festival showcasing the very best in world cinema.”