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 there are 91 Fellows. 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 filmmaker Satyajit Ray and American filmmaker and actor Orson Welles. The most recent Fellowship was bestowed in 2025 on Tom Cruise.
Following allegations of numerous sexual assaults and harassment, American producer Harvey Weinstein was stripped of the fellowship that was originally awarded to him in 2002.
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
Year Recipient Occupation Nationality Ref 1983 Director 1983 Director / Producer / Writer 1983 Director / Producer / Writer 1983 Director / Producer / Writer 1983 Director / Writer 1983 Director / Actor / Writer 1984 Media executive 1985 Film and Television Producer 1985 Actor / Director 1986 Television Producer 1986 Actress 1986 Director 1986 Film Critic 1987 Actor / Screenwriter / Novelist 1987 Actress 1987 Filmmaker 1988 Writer 1988 Actress 1988 Producer 1989 Actress 1989 Actor 1989 Film Archivist 1990 Filmmaker 1990 Filmmaker 1990 Actress 1990 Director 1991 Actor 1991 Art Administrator 1992 Director / Actor 1992 Actress 1993 Filmmaker / Actor 1993 Television Executive 1993 Actress 1994 Director / Cinematographer 1994 Actress 1995 Filmmaker 1995 Actor 1995 Filmmaker 1995 Director / Producer / Writer 1996 Actor 1996 Filmmaker 1997 Television Presenter 1997 Screenwriter / Actress 1997 Television Producer 1997 Film Producer / Activist 1997 Director / Cinematographer 1997 Film Editor 1997 Television Presenter / Producer 1998 Filmmaker 1998 Producer 1999 Philanthropist 2000 Actress 2001 Filmmaker 2001 Filmmaker 2002 Cinematographer 2002 Film Producer 2005 Filmmaker 2005 Filmmaker 2005 Filmmaker 2007 Filmmaker 2009 Director 2009 Actor 2009 Director 2010 Director 2010 Producer 2011 Actress 2011 Actress 2011 Actor / Director 2011 Director 2012 Filmmaker 2012 Actress 2012 Director 2012 Director 2013 Film Critic 2013 Actor 2013 Director 2014 Actor 2014 Director 2015 Filmmaker / Actor / Comedian 2015 Actress 2016 Actor 2016 Media Executive 2016 Steve McQueen Filmmaker 2017 Screenwriter / Playwright 2017 Director 2019 Actor 2020 Actress2020 Chief Administrator of BFI 2022 Film Producer of James Bond 2022 Film Producer of James Bond 2023 Filmmaker 2024 Filmmaker 2025 Actor / Producer2025 Film theorist / Filmmaker2026 Filmmaker
References
External links BFI Fellowship homepage BFI Fellowship award ceremonies