The BFI

The British Film Institute promotes and preserves filmmaking and television in the UK. It has a vast archive based in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, and a number of cinemas. It also runs the BFI Player.

On the Southbank, there is a multi-screen cinema - linked to a superb shop (DVDs, Blu-Ray discs, and a large range of books) and a research library. You can even eat there. To see what is on go to https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/Online/

Nearby, close to Waterloo is the BFI IMAX - http://www.odeon.co.uk/cinemas/bfi_imax/211/

The BFI Player is an on-demand service allowing you to watch films at home (or wherever you and your desktop or tablet are). There is a subscription service - more details are available here, or you can hire individual films. There are also free films available. I was particularly taken by the facility which allows you to search for films from a particular area. I have of course searched for 'Milton Keynes', but also for other places I have lived in. I even found a feature film made in my mother's school in Ammanford (She told me that when they were filming, her job was to make sure that no girls were around - the story is set in a fictional boys school). That film - David, can be accessed for free here. The caretaker (upon whom the story is based) was the brother of the first Secretary of State for Wales (although that post was to come a decade and a half later, and local MP - Jim Griffiths) and a poet in his own right. David Rees Griffiths won Chairs at Eisteddfods, under the bardic name 'Amanwy'. He actually was the caretaker at my mother's school.

Membership of the BFI brings many benefits, including support for it work. Further details are available here.