The BFI’s Special Collections includes filmmakers’ written archives (the papers of both individuals and organisations); screen arts (costume design, production design and animation drawings); as well as some of the largest public collections of scripts, photographs, posters, press books and publicity materials relating to film and television.
Highlights include collections relating to producers such as Michael Balcon, David Puttnam and Betty Box, directors including David Lean, Joseph Losey, Michael Powell, Carol Reed, Mike Hodges, Muriel Box and Derek Jarman, writers such as Emeric Pressburger, Janet Green and Trevor Griffiths and documentary filmmakers such as Humphrey Jennings, Derek Armstrong and Michael Orrom.
From the departments of costume and production design we care for work by renowned figures such as Julie Harris, Alfred Junge, Hein Heckroth and Paul Leni.
Our film poster collection spans the early 1900s up to the present day and features posters from all over the world, as well as posters for newsreels, cinema events and television programmes. Our stills collection contains 2 million images from more than 150,000 film and television programmes, capturing moments on and off the screen and featuring portraits of the world’s most famous stars as well the legends behind the camera who made them famous.
For those wishing to consult the collections, we hold a research service on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (by appointment only) at the BFI National Archive in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire.
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