Inside the Archive #52: BFI Replay in Leicester libraries and a copyright conference

For Green Libraries Week, an annual celebration which showcases how libraries enrich our lives with a focus on sustainability and the climate, Sinéad Beverland (Replay Engagement Officer), David Eagle (Assistant Librarian) and I made our way up to Leicester Central Library. There we had a day of activities planned to highlight BFI Replay to the public.

We kicked off with a presentation from Sinéad Beverland and Richard Shenton-McQueen, Film Archivist for MACE (Media Archive for Central England). The presentation gave an overview of the BFI National Archive and MACE. It is always wonderful to see the public learn more about us and the other screen archives, as quite often they aren’t aware of all the work we do. Sinéad then guided us through BFI Replay and the origin of its creation.

Next, we screened the short film Leicestershire: A Heritage at Risk (1970). The film was produced by Leicester and Leicestershire Cine Society for the Leicestershire branch of CPRE (Campaign to Protect Rural England), a charity concerned with protecting the UK’s countryside. It was a beautiful look at the old countryside from the area, and it was very interesting to see the environmental concerns of the time and how these compare to our current day.

Adrian Jarvis, Chair of the Leicestershire branch of CPRE, was on hand to talk to the attendees about the film and give a bit more information about the charity. He even opened the floor to questions, which was an ideal opportunity to explore ideas about how the CPRE could collaborate with the public.

The day ended with a community group session where we focused on the theme of gardening. This session was organised with the help of Gurpreet Kaur from The Conservation Volunteers, a charity that creates opportunities for people to improve and care for nature across the UK. Sinéad guided the group through a series of videos from BFI Replay, which explore gardening. Watching these videos led to many gardening tips being shared. My favourite of which was to make sure you save your autumn leaves for the bees. You should do this because the leaves make a perfect cosy hideaway for them in the winter.

If you’re interested in checking out some gardening videos, you can find a list of BFI Replay hosts here.

– Francesca Worricker, Project Administrator (Our Screen Heritage)

How do film archives research, create, and organise the information that supports copyright decisions, and what obstacles do they face? On Tuesday 3 February 2026, a one-day conference will bring practitioners together for hands-on knowledge exchange, practical case studies, and honest discussion about challenges and opportunities in rights metadata: from workflows and data models to documentation and discovery.

Speakers will include Kay Foubister from National Library of Scotland Moving Image Archive, Adelheid Heftberger from Bundesarchiv (German Federal Archive), Louise McAward-White, Nicola Regan and Annabelle Shaw from BFI, Rob Scott from Axiell, Claudy Op den Kamp from Bournemouth University, Bartolomeo Meletti from University of Glasgow and Kay Page from Northbound Media Consultants. Alongside talks and panels, a collaborative co-creation session will surface shared problems and prototype solutions.

For more information and to register for a place, visit our event page.

This event is supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.

– Annabelle Shaw, Public Access Researcher

The Inside the Archive blog is supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.