Amanda Elizabeth Nevill, (born 21 March 1957) is the former Chief Executive of the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

Early life and education

Nevill was born on 21 March 1957. She was educated in

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions hav ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

Career

Her first job, in 1976, was for the Rowan Gallery in London. She set up the first British contemporary art fair at

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Pla ...

in 1980 and subsequently organised a touring exhibition for

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company (referred to simply as Kodak ) is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in analogue photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorpor ...

. Nevill joined the

Royal Photographic Society The Royal Photographic Society of Great Britain, commonly known as the Royal Photographic Society (RPS), is one of the world's oldest photographic societies. It was founded in London, England, in 1853 as the Photographic Society of London with ...

in 1985 and ran its archives and its National Centre of Photography exhibition space in Bath. Nevill became the Society's Secretary in 1990 (later renamed Director-General), the first woman to hold the post. Nevill was appointed as Head of Museum at the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (now the

National Science and Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum ...

) in

Bradford Bradford is a city and the administrative centre of the City of Bradford district in West Yorkshire, England. The city is in the Pennines' eastern foothills on the banks of the Bradford Beck. Bradford had a population of 349,561 at the 201 ...

during the Spring of 1994. During her tenure, the Museum carried out a £16 million re-development and launched the Bradford International Film Festival.

British Film Institute

Nevill joined the BFI as the organisation's Director in June 2003 (her job title changed to Chief Executive in 2011, after the BFI takeover of the

UK Film Council The UK Film Council (UKFC) was a non-departmental public body set up in 2000 to develop and promote the film industry in the UK. It was constituted as a private company limited by guarantee, owned by the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and ...

). According to her citation at an honorary degree award she has led its complete transformation into a major organisation valued by the UK industry and recognised as influential internationally. She pioneered the development of the VOD platform BFI Player, launched the BFI Film Academy and BFI Film Audience Network across the UK, transformed

BFI Southbank BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. Histo ...

into one of London's coolest arts venues and ensured the

BFI London Film Festival The BFI London Film Festival is an annual film festival founded in 1957 and held in the United Kingdom, running for two weeks in October with co-operation from the British Film Institute. It screens more than 300 films, documentaries and shor ...

is one of the most significant film festivals in the world. She remained as CEO until 2020.

Honours

* 1993, Honorary Fellowship of the

. * Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts * Council Member of the

University of Bradford The University of Bradford is a public research university located in the city of Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. A plate glass university, it received its royal charter in 1966, making it the 40th university to be created in Britain, bu ...

* 2000, Honorary Doctorate of Letters from the University of Bradford, conferred July 2000 * Director of the Urban Regeneration Company, Bradford (resigned 2004) * 2003, Colin Ford Award from the

Rps.org
Accessed 25 August 2012 * 2015, awarded an honorary degree by the University of York for her contribution to society Noodls.com
Accessed 15 July 2015 * 2015, appointed Commander of the Order of the British Empire (CBE) in the

Queen's Birthday Honours The Birthday Honours, in some Commonwealth realms, mark the reigning British monarch's official birthday by granting various individuals appointment into national or dynastic orders or the award of decorations and medals. The honours are present ...

"for services to the Film Industry".

References

External links

The British Film Institute

The Royal Photographic Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nevill, Amanda 1957 births Living people British Film Institute Commanders of the Order of the British Empire People associated with the University of Bradford