Accreditation guidelines
- By applying for accreditation, you are confirming that you meet the eligibility to be accredited as an industry or press. The submission/registration and payment of an application does not guarantee accreditation.
- The BFI reserves the right, at any time, to withdraw your accreditation should you not provide enough evidence to confirm eligibility.
- By submitting your accreditation form and attending the festival you agree to abide by the BFI London Film Festival terms and conditions and code of conduct.
Eligibility
- Industry accreditation is for individuals currently working in a professional capacity in the UK film industry or wider screen sectors.
- Press accreditation is for individuals currently reporting and/or reviewing in a professional capacity in the UK film industry or wider screen sectors. Previously accredited delegates must demonstrate evidence of past festival coverage; new applicants must submit proof of relevant work.
All applications will be reviewed by the Delegate Services Team within 48 hours.
Terms of accreditation
- Passes are unique to an individual and non-transferrable.
- Accredited passes give access to the venues, events and screenings associated with the relevant delegate pass. For the entire duration of the press and industry and public programme of the BFI London Film Festival, an accredited pass is mandatory for delegates to gain entry.
- Any person without a pass will be refused entry. Passes used by anyone other than the accredited delegate will have the accreditation cancelled without refund. Copying or imitation of accredited passes will result in cancellation without refund.
- Any company or person with any outstanding debt to the BFI London Film Festival will have their accreditation access denied until the debt has been paid.
- Any theft or loss of an accredited festival pass should be reported to the Delegate Services Team immediately. The issuing of a new pass will only be as a PDF file. The BFI London Film Festival reserves the right to refuse a replacement.
Cancellation and refunds
- From 1 October 2024, refunds and exchanges are not permitted.
- Prior to this date, accreditation may be refunded on request and within 14 days of purchase. Requests should be submitted to delegateservices@bfi.org.uk.
- If a delegate does not meet the applicable eligibility criteria, the BFI reserves the right to withdraw accreditation and issue a refund. Any refunds processed are subject to a £10 administration fee.
Festival access and embargo
- There is no guarantee that accredited delegates will obtain entry to any screenings or events during the entirety of the BFI London Film Festival. Entry is subject to availability.
- In line with the BFI’s Sustainability Pledge, your pass is digital and will be sent via email and available at your delegate account from 27 September. We encourage all delegates to use a PDF pass, however a printed pass can be obtained on request from the Delegate Services desk.
- The accredited festival pass (PDF or physical) must be shown for inspection at the cinema entrance or Delegate Services desk, and scanned to validate entry.
- Priority access at Press and Industry screenings is given to Press and Industry pass holders.
- Priority access at public screenings is given to public patrons and ticket holders. Access with a festival pass is strictly subject to availability, and at the discretion of festival staff.
- All delegates agree that they will not publish reviews of or any comments on films receiving their world premieres at the BFI London Film Festival until after the first official public festival screening — this applies to any form of review or comments, including brief impressions or quotes on social media (Twitter, Facebook, blogs, etc.).
Copyright materials
Any person applying for accreditation grants the BFI the non-exclusive right and licence throughout the press and industry screenings and the festival to use any submitted materials, including the photos submitted within the accreditation process for the BFI London Film Festival badge and, if applicable, the delegate directory and any such uses shall not be in breach of any third party intellectual property rights. The BFI London Film Festival reserves the right to refuse accreditation which makes unauthorised use of copyrighted material at any point.
Data protection and publication of information
Personal data submitted during the application process will be stored securely and used only for the fulfilment of your accreditation. Data is retained solely for evaluation purposes and invitation to accredit at next year’s festival, except where you have specifically consented to other uses. Please find a link to the BFI Privacy Policy.
Information will be uploaded to Eventmaker and Cinando platforms in order to register to use these services.
We may publish partial information (as outlined below) in printed and electronic form to facilitate Delegate networking, as per your instructions.
Your name, company name and email address may be included in the BFI London Film Festival Delegates Directory, as per the consents outlined on your form. This list will be made available to delegates online via a password-protected personal delegate page. Your phone numbers, and postal address will not be published.
Your name, company name and your viewing information of Press & Industry screenings and digital library viewings may be shared with the film rights holders, as per the consent outlined on your form. This information will be made available to the film rights holder of the Press & Industry screening(s) you attend only. Your phone numbers, email addresses and postal address will not be shared.
BFI will not give or sell your information to third parties for marketing purposes.
A request to revoke consent may be submitted at any time by contacting the Industry Office. Please note that in order to receive access to films on the virtual press and industry platform you are required to give consent for your information to be shared with film rights holders as outlined in the form.
You have the right to access information held about you and can request to view such information by writing to the Festivals Office, BFI Southbank, Belvedere Road, London SE1 8XT or emailing delegateservices@bfi.org.uk.
Festival anti-piracy policy
Unauthorised streaming or recording is prohibited. Cameras are not permitted in venue screenings and recording sound, taking pictures or filming will result in immediate expulsion. You are not permitted to post or publish screenshots or photos of virtual screeners on social media or anywhere online.
Advanced security measures such as forensic and visible watermarking are in place to prevent and track piracy for online screenings, and if caught legal action will be pursued and delegate access will be permanently revoked.
If the BFI London Film Festival authorises any photographer or filmmaker to record during a screening or event, BFI London Film Festival attendees consent to the possible inclusion of their image and sound recording and permit use of these for publicity purposes without any claim to remuneration.
Code of conduct
Important policy information for festival delegates
We are committed to providing an environment that is as welcoming and accessible as possible, and inclusive for all festival guests and attendees, team members and volunteers.
The London Film Festival does not tolerate harassment or harmful behaviour in any form. The BFI are co-founders alongside BAFTA of the guidance and principles which seek to professionalise behaviour and conduct within the screen industries.
By attending the BFI London Film Festival you agree to abide by the BFI guidance and principles which aim to tackle and prevent bullying, harassment and racism in the screen industries. Examples of bullying, harassment and racism can be found below.
If you break the code of conduct
Anyone violating these policies will be asked to stop and are expected to comply immediately, and at the discretion of the organisers or any of their representatives may be expelled from the event (without refund), and be ineligible to attend any future screenings or in future years. We encourage all attendees to be active bystanders.
During the festival, if you are made to feel unsafe or unwelcome, notice someone else being harassed, or have any other concerns, you can tell a member of our staff, volunteer or security teams. They will help, or find someone who can. Every event will have a London Film Festival representative in attendance. Our team can be identified by their badges or t-shirts. If you tell us about an incident, your immediate safety will be our first priority. We will listen from a position of belief, and keep what you say in confidence until and if agreed otherwise, and can recommend relevant support agencies and services.
If you prefer to get in touch in writing, please email delegateservices@bfi.org.uk.
Examples of bullying and harassment
The following is by no means an exhaustive list but it can be used to highlight the range of unwanted conduct or inappropriate behaviour.
- shouting, swearing, intimidating, threatening or throwing things
- belittling a person’s creative input or not letting them express their opinion in the first place
- unfairly blaming others, e.g. for the failures of technology; humiliation and ridicule either in private, at meetings or in front of colleagues, customers or clients
- spreading malicious rumours, or insulting someone by word or behaviour
- copying memos that are critical about someone to others who do not need to know
- ridiculing or demeaning someone or picking on them
- threats, abuse, teasing, gossip, banter or practical jokes or pranks
- unwelcome sexual advances, including touching, standing too close, the display of offensive materials, asking for sexual favours, making decisions on the basis of sexual advances being accepted or rejected
- homophobic, racist or sexist comments, offensive gestures
- excluding individuals or groups or socially isolating them
- unfair treatment, such as tasks with unachievable deadlines
- overbearing supervision.
- making threats or comments about job security without foundation.
- deliberately undermining a competent worker by overloading them.
- undermining with constant criticism.
- preventing individuals progressing by intentionally blocking promotion or training opportunities.
- intruding on a person’s privacy by pestering, spying or stalking.
- tampering with a person’s personal belongings or work equipment.
- cyber-bullying conducted online by email, online messaging, online gaming or social media channels, e.g. offensive language, embarrassing pictures or videos, fake profiles, death threats.
Examples of racial discrimination
What the Equality Act says about race discrimination:
The Equality Act 2010 says you must not be discriminated against because of your race.
In the Equality Act, race can mean your colour, or your nationality (including your citizenship). It can also mean your ethnic or national origins, which may not be the same as your current nationality. For example, you may have Chinese national origins and be living in Britain with a British passport.
Race also covers ethnic and racial groups. This means a group of people who all share the same protected characteristic of ethnicity or race. A racial group can be made up of two or more distinct racial groups, for example black Britons, British Asians, British Sikhs, British Jews, Romany Gypsies and Irish Travellers.
You may be discriminated against because of one or more aspects of your race, for example people born in Britain to Jamaican parents could be discriminated against because they are British citizens, or because of their Jamaican national origins.
There are four main types of race discrimination.
- direct discrimination: this happens when someone treats you worse than another person in a similar situation because of your race.
- indirect discrimination: this happens when an organisation has a particular policy or way of working that puts people of your racial group at a disadvantage.
- harassment on the grounds of race: harassment occurs when someone makes you feel humiliated, offended or degraded. For example, a young British Asian man at work keeps being called a racist name by colleagues. His colleagues say it is just banter, but the employee is insulted and offended by it.
- victimisation: this is when you are treated badly because you have made a complaint of race related discrimination under the Equality Act. It can also occur if you are supporting someone who has made a complaint of race related discrimination.
There are some circumstances when being treated differently due to race is lawful. A difference in treatment may be lawful in employment situations if:
- belonging to a particular race is essential for the job. This is called an occupational requirement. For example, an organisation wants to recruit a support worker for a domestic violence advice service for South Asian women. The organisation can say that it only wants to employ someone with South Asian origins
- an organisation is taking positive action to encourage or develop people in a racial group that is under-represented or disadvantaged in a role or activity. For example, a broadcaster gets hardly any applicants for its graduate recruitment programme from Black Caribbean candidates. It sets up a work experience and mentoring programme for Black Caribbean students to encourage them into the industry