BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmospher ...

s. It is operated by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

History

The National Film Theatre was initially opened in a temporary building (the

Telecinema The Telecinema was a small cinema built especially for the Festival of Britain's London South Bank Exhibition in the summer of 1951. It was situated between Waterloo station and the Royal Festival Hall. The Telecinema was one of the most popular ...

) at the

Festival of Britain The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition and fair that reached millions of visitors throughout the United Kingdom in the summer of 1951. Historian Kenneth O. Morgan says the Festival was a "triumphant success" during which people: ...

in 1951 and moved to its present location in 1957, replacing the Thameside restaurant on the site. It opened for the first

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

on 16 October 1957. Later, the

Southbank Centre Southbank Centre is a complex of artistic venues in London, England, on the South Bank of the River Thames (between Hungerford Bridge and Waterloo Bridge). It comprises three main performance venues (the Royal Festival Hall including the Nati ...

expanded its buildings to meet the National Film Theatre from the south, while the National Theatre occupies the area to the northeast. A second screen was added on 21 September 1970. In 1988 a new building was constructed for the Museum of the Moving Image between the National Film Theatre and Belvedere Road. Designed by Avery Associates Architects it was built under the Waterloo Bridge approach and expanded during construction into a former subterranean car park. It remained separate from the National Film Theatre, with separate entrances. The museum was closed in 1999. On 14 March 2007, the National Film Theatre was relaunched as BFI Southbank in considerably enlarged premises, taking over space that had been used by the museum. The enlargement works were due to start in the summer of 2005 but were delaying owing to funding problems. When it reopened, in addition to the three pre-existing cinemas the complex included a new small cinema (the studio), a médiathèque, a contemporary art gallery dedicated to the moving image (the

BFI Gallery The BFI Gallery was the BFI's contemporary art gallery dedicated to artists' moving image housed within BFI Southbank, the British Film Institute's flagship venue in London (previously known as the National Film Theatre). The space was funded by t ...

), a shop, and a bar and restaurant run by

Benugo Benugo (benúːgoʊ) is a British catering company. It operates high street cafes, restaurants, dining spaces inside public buildings as well as in-house corporate cafes. As of March 2014, Benugo had more than 70 individual locations; most of the ...

Location and architectural details

BFI Southbank is sited below the southern end of Waterloo Bridge, forming part of the cultural complex on the

South Bank The South Bank is an entertainment and commercial district in central London, next to the River Thames opposite the City of Westminster. It forms a narrow strip of riverside land within the London Borough of Lambeth (where it adjoins Alber ...

of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The site comprises three cinemas and studio space, as well as cafes and exhibition space. It also has a large bar area in the foyer where smaller performances are sometimes held. The National Film Theatre was designed by

Norman Engleback Norman Engleback (5 October 1927 – 4 December 2015) was an English architect. He worked for the London County Council, and was the lead architect on the Queen Elizabeth Hall, the Purcell Room and the Hayward Gallery on the South Bank; and the ...

, an architect within

London County Council London County Council (LCC) was the principal local government body for the County of London throughout its existence from 1889 to 1965, and the first London-wide general municipal authority to be directly elected. It covered the area today kn ...

. In 2022 the architects behind the redevelopment of the Southbank promenade entrance received London and National awards from the Royal Institute of British Architects for their design which includes a "grand canopy of cast fibreglass" which "glows boldly like a cinema screen".

History

Location and architectural details

See also