Cinema Retro has received the following press release from the British Film Institute. It's sure to gladden the hearts of classic movie lovers the world over:
BFI National Film Centre gets the green
light
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DCMS pledges £45 million capital
spend
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- Everyone in Britain to benefit from new centre for film
- Visionary new digital hub you can plug into from home
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The BFI announces today that it is proceeding with its plan to
build a visionary new film centre on London’s South Bank. The decision to move
forward comes as the Culture Secretary, Ben Bradshaw, announced a
£45 million capital investment from Government in the
project.
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The BFI’s ambition is to create a world-leading centre for the
study, enjoyment and celebration of film and television. The money pledged from
Government follows an earlier investment promise of £5 million in the project
from the London Mayor through the LDA. It secures the next phase of the project
which is to design and planning, and will go towards helping fund the
construction of the new centre which is to be developed on the site of
Hungerford car park.Â
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Amanda Nevill, director of the BFI, said:
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‘This is hugely exciting news for film culture in Britain, for
the whole of the British film industry and a positive turning point in the
history of the BFI. Film is one of the greatest art forms of today and
universally popular. It is also a British success story - London and the UK are
at the centre of the global film industry.
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“We will be creating something that doesn’t exist anywhere
else in the world, precisely because we can. It will build on the BFI’s 75 year
legacy, bringing together the greatest collections of film on earth with all the
excitement and stimulation of emerging cinema into the most creative and
inclusive programmes. It will be a digital hub, working with partners across the
UK to share and exchange those programmes. We are a step closer in our ambition
to inspire and excite audiences everywhere in a new digital
Britain.â€
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John Woodward, chief executive of the UK Film Council which
funds the BFI, said:
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“This is a key milestone on the road towards the UK Film
Council and the BFI’s shared objective of transforming the cultural film
offering to UK citizens in the digital age. Not only will film now have a
fitting home on the best arts campus in the world, but the development will use
digital to open up the archive and all the other film treasures that the BFI
holds for the benefit of everyone in the UK.â€
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