The British Film Institute, home to the world’s largest film archive, is set to première its brand new video-on-demand player nationwide on 9th October.
Phase one of the launch will see seven separate channels screening over 1,000 items of content available either for free (approx 60%) or pay-per-view (approx 40%).
The launch will coincide with the BFI London Film Festival and is being touted as a “new way of taking cultural assets into the digital age”.
Further celebrations will see Clio Bernard’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s short story The Selfish Giant screened in conjunction with its theatrical release on the 25th of October.
In addition to this, the recent BFI restoration of pioneering 1924 documentary The Epic of Everest will also be available on its national release allowing BFI users the opportunity to be among the first to see the film.
”Preserving and Promoting British Film Culture”
The BFI’s culturally and historically rich subject matter, including for the first time the full collection of Edwardian footage from film makers Mitchell and Kenyon, will be paired with other more contemporary offerings showcasing the best in independent cinema.
Phase two of the project will see some 10,000 films available to stream including modern classics such as The Elephant Man (1980), Apocalypse Now (1979) and The Mistletoe Bough (1913).
Much of the material released in the initial launch will see a host of respected film makers, directors and actors speak their minds in an unprecedented collection of intimate interviews.
Many of these celebrities are international pin-ups, whose iconic image is celebrated in print at places such as posterlounge.co.uk.
The BFI player will offer content in HD with support from Ooyala and, as time progresses; will continue to build its high definition library.
With the release of its archives and increased accessibility to the general public, the BFI hope to preserve and promote British film in exceptional quality whilst continuing to support new film and film makers.