National Film Theatre (NFT) interviews

Over the past 40 years at the National Film Theatre, the bfi has presented a unique series of interviews, as well as lectures and debates, featuring some of the greatest names in film and television history.

Many of the interviewers have been experts, with a detailed and intimate knowledge of the interviewee's life and work, and on some occasions they have been celebrities in their own right.

These events have been preserved on tape, but until now it has not been possible for researchers, historians or fans to hear these unique sound recordings.

Now, as a result of a recent preservation project, funded from within the bfi, there are over 600 of these fascinating and historic recordings available, to be consulted at the bfi National Library.

The list of individuals covered is on this site. In each case, where possible, the name of the speaker is followed by the name of the interviewer and other speakers on the tape, the date of the event and the length of the recording (in minutes).

There are also separate lists of subjects (including TV) accessible through the links on this page, where the topic, speakers involved and the date of the event is indicated.

These tapes are available for listening, in the Reading Room. Please ask for them by name of the speaker.

This is an ongoing project. Further names will be added to this list, in due course as more recordings from the bfi's sound archive are transferred from the original reel-to-reel tapes.

We are indebted to John Player and the Guardian whose financial support over the years has enabled these events to take place.

Read and listen to the interviews

Complete transcripts of recent interviews at the NFT can be found in the Features section of the bfi website.

Audio extracts from interviews with Fritz Lang and Michael Powell can be found as part of features on these film-makers on the bfi site.

Transcripts and extracts from Guardian-sponsored interviews at BFI Southbank.