American Express and the BFI have announced a landmark, multi-year partnership.

This exciting new partnership supports the BFI's year-round cultural programme and includes headline sponsorship of the internationally renowned BFI London Film Festival, which takes place in October every year. The partnership will also support quarterly screenings at the BFI IMAX and the acclaimed 'Screen Epiphanies' series at BFI Southbank where personalities from the world of stage and screen introduce and discuss films that inspired them personally or professionally. Previous Epiphanies have been presented by such prominent figures as John Hurt, Sam Taylor-Wood, Frank Skinner and Juliet Stephenson.

This new partnership builds on American Express' history of supporting the best in film from around the world and will be an important cornerstone of the company’s strategy of providing American Express Cardmembers with special access to memorable experiences across a broad range of entertainment categories. This chimes with the BFI's own objective which is to make available a wide choice of British and world cinema that otherwise - without the BFI's intervention - would not be seen by audiences in the UK.

In particular, the year-round relationship with the BFI will be a major addition to American Express' award winning 'Preferred Seating' programme which was rolled out in the UK last year. This programme offers Cardmembers priority tickets, best seats in the house and 'meet and greet' opportunities at many of the country's most sought after music concerts and other entertainment events.

Amanda Nevill, Director of the BFI, said: "Over 58% of the BFI’s total funding is self-generated and in the current economic climate private sponsors and donors have never been so important. We are proud of the strong cultural mix of contemporary and historical film programmes that we deliver to new and existing audiences in Britain. It feels like a festival for 52 weeks of the year and we are looking forward to working with American Express to entertain, challenge and inspire those audiences in equal measure."

Raymond Joabar, UK Managing Director, American Express, comments: "We are delighted to be working with such an iconic and internationally respected organisation as the BFI to give our Cardmembers access to some of the best in film from around the world. This new partnership further strengthens our ties within the industry and builds on our heritage in film as founding sponsor of the Tribeca Film Festival and a regular supporter of the Sundance Film Festival. We look forward to working with the BFI on developing and promoting a programme of events that will celebrate the artistry of film and continue to raise the visibility of British film talent and the BFI London Film Festival both in the UK and abroad."

Commenting on the partnership, Minister for Culture, Communication and Creative Industries, Ed Vaizey said: "This new partnership is an excellent example of how private business can support the arts. This multi-year commitment from American Express to the BFI shows that there is a genuine appetite among world leading businesses to support film in the UK and that collaborating with top cultural organisations has serious commercial benefits."