Please continue to  share the petition and look out for the 10th April event ‘How to fight Racism @BFI’ where  the petition and BAFTA situation will be discussed HERE

The racism at BAFTA/BBC is summarised by Brooke Obie HERE and there are several overlaps with the BFI.

The Reform Party plans to scrap the Equality Act  while the BFI has simply ignored it and refused to run a Race Equality Impact Assessment regarding African Odysseys in compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty of the Equality Act 2010  HERE

The REIA is supported by almost 18,000 petitioners  and more than 20 academic experts. This situation is unprecedented in national cinema history. The 20-year-old, monthly film series is popular and the global majority grassroots volunteers who run it have contributed £6 million worth of work into the BFI HERE

Significantly,  the BFI under the leadership of Stuart Brown, Head of Programmes and Acquisitions, agreed to do the legally required Race Equality Impact Assessment Act on 2nd July 2024 at a meeting attended by African Odysseys Steering Committee members and Melanie Hoyes Director of Inclusion at BFI.

Brown later  changed his mind and refused to do one despite over 20 academics including race equality experts like Dame Professor Elizabeth Anionwu, Professor Paul Gilroy, Professor David Dabybeen, Professor Hakim Adi, Professor Cecil Gutzmore, Professor Deidre Osborne, Professor Gus John, Professor Imruh Bakari and many others supporting African Odysseys.

In 1966 legendary Civil Rights activist James Baldwin stated ‘I can't believe what you say because I see what you do’

It is worth considering these words  in relation to the BFI’s actions on race issues compared to what they say. The BFI,  sponsored by the DCMS (Department for Culture, Media and Sport) recently advertised for 6 new governors HERE

Under ‘Vision’ the advert states

We will transform access to our programmes, screen culture, and jobs by 

1.      focussing on the diversity of our audiences;

2.      expanding our work to embrace television & the breadth of creative technologies;

3.      reframing the public’s relationship with the BFI’s collections;

4.      investing in the growth of our digital platforms; and,

5.      working with industry to deliver long-term strategies for education and skills

We are a leader in diversity and inclusion, and as an organisation recognise that we need to address under representation at all levels of the organisation. As such we strongly welcome and encourage applicants from our under-represented groups, who identify as D/deaf and disabled and/or are Black and Global Majority.

However, to date,  the BFI has ignored this 17,626 petition  and  cancelled the educational, anti-racist African Odysseys monthly film series that filled up their 450 seat Southbank cinema  with global majority people since 2007. This make sense in regard to   1,3,4,5 or the last paragraph.

An example of the kind of African Odysseys event and audience the BFI does not want is 'Warrior Queen Nzingha'. Screened at the BFI in July 2015 to a 400 plus audience plus  Q&A with Dr Ama Biney. It can be seen HERE

The BFI, under the leadership of CEO Ben Roberts, rejected a meeting on African Odysseys offered by  equality campaigner Professor Gus John. Professor John helped write the equality laws alongside Home Secretary Jack Straw. Professor John wrote a nine page , fifteen signature, open letter offering his vast expertise to the BFI at no cost. That letter was sent 1st October 2024 HERE

It was signed by 15 people who could  meet the criteria for governor role but why would they apply to a BFI  that  ignored their pro-active approach? How does his behaviour meet the criteria stated at 1,2,3,5 or the final paragraph?

For over three months, the BFI refused to even communicate, far less meet with the African Odysseys Steering Committee, the global majority organisers of the most successful Black film programme ever at the BFI. This does not mesh  with items 1,2,3,5 or the final paragraph. After some media exposure in Screen Daily the BFI agreed to a meeting.

The BFI, under the leadership of Stuart Brown and Jason Wood (Executive Director of Public Programmes and Audiences) on Friday 17th January 2025   cancelled the only meeting to discuss the future of African Odysseys with Professor Gus John with merely two hours notice.HERE

The BFI then rejected a further proposed meeting with Hollywood producer  Terry Jervis HERE who offered to discuss the economic benefits of African Odysseys and sponsorship. How does this  behaviour connect to items 1,2,3,5 or the final paragraph? What message is sent to potential governors if this is how outstanding Black public figures representing a massive diverse audience of  almost 18,000 people are treated?

All of the above took place under the leadership of the Chair of Governors Jay Hunt who is on the selection panel for the 6 new governors. The Chair of Governors did not respond to the 6 page letter of complaint sent to herself and Ben Roberts on the 21st January 2025 titled ‘BFI brought into disrepute by actions of senior management on African Odysseys and systemic racism’

The letter was a detailed complaint about how the BFI treated African Odysseys and the last minute cancelation of the meeting by Stuart Brown/Jason Wood.  The Steering Committee however did get a response from Stuart Brown, the person who was the one of the main subjects of the complaint.

It is worth pointing out that under the leadership of Stuart Brown, at a meeting on 29 August 2023 with Steering Committee members attended by Brown and Justin Johnson, the BFI agreed to a celebratory  year of events in 2026 to recognise 20 years of the unique programme. Clearly this has not happened.

The advert states that the BFI is a ‘leader in diversity and inclusion’. By what metric is this measured as:

• The BFI executive team is 88% white and only had a Black person appointed in the wake of George Floyd in 2021
• The BFI had to publicly apologise to  Asian filmmaker Faisal Querishi in 2024 for the way they handled his race complaint. A process that took five years.HERE
• The BFI just weeks ago, was taken  to task by legendary activist Tariq Ali  or not inviting him to a season which featured his pioneering anti-racist work on the Bandung File. He was only invited as an afterthought because of  the publicity from a Guardian article by Lanre Bakare HERE

The BFI, despite its alleged commitments to transparency has refused to answer these 8 simple questions for two years 
1.            Who is responsible for the restructure?

2.            Who decided not to conduct a Race Equality Impact Assessment, and what are their qualifications? When was that decision made?

3.            Why does BFI Flare have eight times more staff than African Odysseys?

4.            Why has Flare received a BFI-produced trailer annually for 10 years, while African Odysseys has been denied one for 17 years?

5.            What is the budget for African Odysseys?

6.            What is the racial composition of BFI’s Sight & Sound staff by rank and length of service?

7.            Why has Sight & Sound excluded African Odysseys for 17 years despite its significance?

8.            Was ‘What If’ informed about the Steering Committee the 2020 and 2023 complaints of racial discrimination to CEO Ben Roberts when they were involved with diversity training of BFI staff?

Given all of the above, one is forced to consider how these repeated discriminatory actions against African Odysseys films/producers/actors/directors/activists and audience, by the BFI compares with the  voicing of the N word by BAFTA/BBC and subsequent consequences.

African Odysseys continues to screen films on ; Black Peoples day of Action 1981, Afeni Shakur, France and the CFA, Ismahil Blagrove season, Cuba, Notting Hill, Frantz Fanon, Black British Civil Rights,  Sinners Breakdown etc HERE 

These events would have been at the BFI but for their cancellation of African Odysseys with no public consultation.

Please carry on signing and sharing the petition and attending events