Amanda Elizabeth Nevill (born 21 March 1957) is a British arts administrator who is the former Chief Executive of the

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

Early life and education

Nevill was born on 21 March 1957. She was educated in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ) is an area of Northern England which was History of Yorkshire, historically a county. Despite no longer being used for administration, Yorkshire retains a strong regional identity. The county was named after its county town, the ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Career

Her first job, in 1976, was for the Rowan Gallery in London. She set up the first British contemporary art fair at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

in 1980 and subsequently organised a touring exhibition for

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

. Nevill joined the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is the world's oldest photographic society having been in continuous existence since 1853. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as th ...

in 1985 became its National Centre of Photography Administrator in late 1985. Nevill became the Society's Secretary in 1990 (later renamed Director-General), the first woman to hold the post. Nevill was appointed as Head of Museum at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (now the

National Science and Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...

) in

Bradford Bradford is a city status in the United Kingdom, city in West Yorkshire, England. It became a municipal borough in 1847, received a city charter in 1897 and, since the Local Government Act 1972, 1974 reform, the city status in the United Kingdo ...

during the spring of 1994. During her tenure, the Museum carried out a £16 million re-development and launched the Bradford International Film Festival.

British Film Institute

Nevill joined the

(BFI) as the organisation's Director in June 2003 (her job title changed to Chief Executive in 2011, after the BFI takeover of the

UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...

). According to her citation at an honorary degree award she has led its complete transformation into a major organisation valued by the UK industry and recognised as influential internationally. She pioneered the development of the VOD platform BFI Player, launched the BFI Film Academy and BFI Film Audience Network across the UK, transformed

BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the United Kingdom, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Inst ...

into one of London's coolest arts venues and ensured the

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival held in London, England, in collaboration with the British Film Institute. Founded in 1957, the festival runs for two weeks every October. In 2016, the BFI estimated that around 240 fe ...

is one of the most significant film festivals in the world. She remained as CEO until 2020.

Honours

* 1993, Honorary Fellowship of the

. * Fellow of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce, commonly known as the Royal Society of Arts (RSA), is a learned society that champions innovation and progress across a multitude of sectors by fostering creativity, s ...

* Council Member of the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, but ...

* 2000, Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Bradford, conferred July 2000 * Director of the Urban Regeneration Company, Bradford (resigned 2004) * 2003, Colin Ford Award from the

Rps.org
Accessed 25 August 2012 * 2015, awarded an honorary degree by the

University of York The University of York (abbreviated as or ''York'' for Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a public Collegiate university, collegiate research university in York, England. Established in 1963, the university has expanded to more than thir ...

for her contribution to society Noodls.com
Accessed 15 July 2015 * 2015, appointed

Commander of the Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

(CBE) in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the King's Official Birthday, reigning monarch's official birthday in each realm by granting various individuals appointment into Order (honour), national or Dynastic order of knighthood, dy ...

"for services to the Film Industry".

References

External links

The British Film Institute

The Royal Photographic Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevill, Amanda 1957 births Living people British Film Institute British film people Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People associated with the University of Bradford