BFI London Film Festival delegate FAQ

• Industry accreditation
• Press accreditation
• Festival filmaker accreditation
• Film Academy accreditation

You can apply for Industry accreditation if you fall in to one of the following categories:

Industry delegates: industry accreditation is for individuals currently working in a professional capacity in the UK film industry or wider screen sectors.

Press delegates: press accreditation is for individuals currently reporting and/or reviewing in a professional capacity in the UK film industry or wider screen sectors.

Festival filmmaker delegates: we offer select complimentary accreditation to core members of the creative team who have work screening in the festival.

Film Academy delegates: Film Academy accreditation is available to all young people (18 to 25 years old) based in the UK and interested in pursuing and progressing a career in the film industry. Over 25’s in full-time education and in possession of a valid student ID can also apply.

Accreditation for Industry, Press and Film Academy delegates opens on Thursday 20 August 2020. 

Festival filmmakers delegates will be contacted directly with an invitation to accredit.

Industry accreditation will remain open until the penultimate day of the festival, 17 October 2020. 

Press accreditation, festival filmmaker accreditation and Film Academy accreditation will close at 5pm 28 September 2020.

Industry accreditation has 2 price bands:

£55 employer-assisted rate

£35 concessionary rate

Film Academy accreditation costs £35

Press accreditation is free for 2020

The concession rate is available to filmmakers, members of the film or wider screen industries who meet at least one of the following criteria:

• are freelance professionals who work in the film, TV or XR industry
• have applied for or are in receipt of the UK’s Universal Credit, Job Seeker’s Allowance, Employment and Support Allowance, Personal Independence Payment or Carer’s Allowance
• are enrolled in post-graduate studies alongside working in the industry

Please include information how you meet any of these criteria in the ‘Supporting information’ field in the accreditation form.

• exclusive access to a programme of Industry events 
• access to the online press and Industry screenings 
• access to the Industry delegate guide
• digital festival goodie bag, including a discounted BFI Membership and BFI Player subscription
• access to our range of free to view programmes and events comprising:
• Over 50 short films
• LFF Expanded – our new XR programme featuring 10+ 360 films and 8+ interactive experiences on a newly developed Social VR platform
• Over 15 public events – screen talks, salons and more

The industry programme for 2020 will be delivered completely online and viewable to delegates by using our press and industry platform Shift72.

There will be no in-person events or screenings within the Industry delegate offer for 2020 but delegates are welcome to buy tickets for the limited number of public screenings taking place at BFI Southbank or any of our partner venues.

There will be no delegate centre for 2020. All delegate assistance will be available online. For any queries or questions please email indaccred@bfi.org.uk  for industry and lffpressaccreditation@bfi.org.uk for press.

There will not be a physical brochure for the festival or industry programme. However both the full public and industry programme are available online.

Due to current health and safety regulations there will be no networking events for Industry delegates, but we encourage industry delegates to use the industry delegate guide to network with other industry professionals.

LFF Expanded is a new public showcase that will include immersive and interactive works using AR, MR, VR and feature ambitious experiential projects and creative collaborations between artists from different creative sectors. Additionally the festival will premiere new episodic and series work created for digital platforms and/or broadcasters from around the world. This year the XR programme will be free and available to the members of the public both virtually and in-person.

Find out more

The public festival programme is now live.

The Industry programme will be launched Thursday 24 September 2020.

Press and industry screenings will be delivered online via our platform Shift72. Once you have been accredited you will be invited to register with Shift72.

The virtual press and industry screenings will take place at designated times. You will need to log in to Shift72 to view films at a set time and these films will only be available for a limited period. In most cases the accessibility window for films will be 1 hour and the films will be uncapped unless otherwise stated. Within this hour you will need to start streaming the film, you can continue to stream the film after this hour however if you leave the browser window after the accessibility window you will lose access to the film. The press and industry screening schedule will be available closer to the festival start date. All press and industry screenings will take place between the 2 and 17 October from 9am throughout these dates.

As with our previous festivals some films will be available to access on our digital viewing library throughout the duration of the festival. These will be accessed via shift 72. This year the digital viewing library will host our shorts film programme and be available from the 1 October to the 30 October 2020. All shorts will also be available on BFI Player for members of the public between 7 and 18 October.

Industry events will either be streamed using the virtual press and industry platform (as with press and industry screenings) or via a webinar sign-up link which you will also find on the relevant event page on the virtual press and industry platform. Although the events are timed, the majority of events will be available to re-watch until the end of the festival.

Due to rights restrictions, unfortunately only those based in the UK can access both the digital viewing library and the press and industry screenings. We are therefore unable to offer press and industry accreditation to those based outside of the UK for this year’s festival but look forward to welcoming all international delegates to BFI LFF in 2021. Festival filmmakers will still be given access to a delegate pass; however, those filmmakers based outside of the UK will be unable to access online screenings on Shift72.

Industry delegates: email indaccred@bfi.org.uk 

Press delegates: email lffpressaccreditation@bfi.org.uk 

Film Academy delegates: email filmacademy@bfi.org.uk 

Festival filmmaker delegates will be contacted directly.

LFF delegates are eligible for a discounted paper-free Membership to the BFI. This offer will be emailed to delegates.