British Film Institute Fellowship

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]

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

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

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David Lean received the Fellowship in 1983
 
American Orson Welles was one of the six inaugural recipients of the Fellowship in 1983.
 
Dame Maggie Smith received the Fellowship in 1992
 
Irish actress Maureen O'Hara was awarded the Fellowship in 1993.
 
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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