From script to screen: digital accessibility at the British Film Institute

Setting the scene: preserving film culture for everyone

The British Film Institute (BFI) is the UK’s leading film charity, dedicated to preserving, promoting, and developing the moving image. BFI manages the world-renowned BFI National Archive, runs iconic venues like BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX, delivers diverse film programmes and festivals, and supports the next generation of UK storytellers - all while making film culture accessible to everyone.

The plot twist: making every experience accessible

BFI operates a wide range of services - websites, online shops, streaming platforms and digital archives - that need to be accessible to all audiences.

With a complex ecosystem of platforms and teams, BFI needed a partner who could help embed accessibility as a continuous, long-term practice rather than a one-off compliance exercise.

Rolling the cameras: building accessibility into the story

Since 2020, we’ve worked alongside BFI to make accessibility a core part of their organisational DNA. Rather than focusing solely on isolated fixes, our work has centred on building capability, embedding best practices, and supporting continuous improvement:

• Training and workshops: raising awareness of accessibility and ensuring internal teams have the knowledge and confidence they need to design, build, and maintain accessible services.

• Strategic consultancy: guidance on accessibility strategy and integration across new and existing services.

• Regular accessibility audits: systematic reviews of key services, including cinema websites, online shops, and archive catalogues, identifying gaps and tracking improvements over time.

• Proactive design reviews: accessibility is considered from the earliest design stage, preventing issues before development begins.

• Disabled user testing: engaging users with disabilities to validate design and inform iterative improvements.

The climax: seeing accessibility come to life

Our ongoing partnership has helped BFI:

• Build internal accessibility capability across teams.

• Embed accessibility into workflows and decision-making processes.

• Ensure new digital and physical services are aligned (or working towards alignment) with WCAG standards.

• Strengthen the user experience for audiences with disabilities.

Rather than a one-time compliance effort, accessibility is now a continuous, integrated practice at BFI, aligned with their long-term mission of making film culture accessible to all.