BFI Mediatheques are planned to open in Wrexham and Newcastle in 2010 and in Birmingham and Manchester by 2013.
A Mediatheque is an ever expanding digital jukebox, where you can watch a wealth of complete films and TV programmes from the BFI National Archive, entirely free of charge. There are over 1,500 titles currently available, including films celebrating cutting-edge British fashion, 100 years of black British stories and rare home movies filmed by ex-pats in India and Tibet. Over 85% of all Mediatheque titles have never been released on DVD or online, making this the only way for members of the public to enjoy them.
The first BFI Mediatheque to launch outside England will open in Wrexham, Wales, at the refurbished public Library, in March. In a partnership with Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums, a further Mediatheque will open in the spring at Newcastle's Discovery Museum, with two more opening in Birmingham and Manchester in 2013. The latter two form part of multi-million pound Library regeneration and build projects in each of the cities.
These new Mediatheques will follow the remarkable success of three existing Mediatheques launched by the BFI at BFI Southbank in London, at QUAD in Derby and at the Central Library in Cambridge. To date, over 85,000 people have visited.
Amanda Nevill, Director of the BFI, said:
"Film provides such a tantalising view of how the people of Britain lived and worked and played over the past century or more. We always said when we opened our first Mediatheque at BFI Southbank in London that our aim was to replicate it in every nation and region of the UK and we are several steps closer to achieving that aim now."
Follow us