The anniversary of George Floyd’s killing was 25th May, the Soweto Uprising was on 16th June, and Windrush Day was on 22nd June. In the wake of these three anniversaries for racial justice, we contrast the BFI’s words about Black and global majority people in 2020, with their actions in 2026.
Below are the type of Black film events that are not taking place at the BFI purely because the BFI cancelled the African Odysseys programme against the professional advice of over 25 academics, against race equality law, against their own 2023 written commitments to support a celebratory season @BFI in 2026 and against the wishes of 18,350 people who’ve signed this petition:
1. Champion Black Boxers and Businessmen of 1820
2. 20 Banned Black Films you need to see: African Odysseys
3. Reparations, new film from Chrystal Rose
4. London Recruits. Film, Q&A with ANC/South African Minister Ronnie Kasrils
5. 70s Jamaican movie star/director/DJ/model: Esther Anderson, in conversation
6. Remembering Joy Gardner: Black Lives Matter 1993
7. Frantz Fanon weekender. All film details HERE
The decision to block such films and BFI’s continued disrespect of the Black community is clearly racist and comes on the back of three letters of complaint on race issues sent to BFI CEO Ben Roberts on 23rd June 2020, 5th May 2023 and 13th June 2024.
As a national, public, taxpayer-funded body this behaviour in unacceptable and must be challenged at a time when marginalised communities are under physical attack.
The BFI announced plans to end African Odysseys in the summer of 2024 when there were race riots taking place across the country. In this climate of racist violence, the ending of a twenty-year-old educational, anti-racist film programme so that the BFI could ‘improve diversity and cut costs’ is racist gaslighting. This is especially so given that African Odysseys made money for the BFI by regularly filling up their 450-seat cinema and was supported by a volunteer team of programmers/marketers/consultants known as the Steering Committee.
On 17th June 2020 BFI CEO Ben Roberts committed the BFI to racial equality with the following written statements: HERE
In the weeks since the murder of George Floyd, I’ve talked to many colleagues across the BFI about the need to address systemic racism and tackle our own institutional failings.
At the BFI, we are united against racism, but we have not been actively antiracist. We know there are some longstanding and endemic issues within the organisation which can harm people and undermine our values. Whilst we are not alone in confronting this truth, it is crucial that we have uncomfortable conversations not just with each other, but also with those who have been marginalised or ignored.
Since then, the BFI has been involved in three race scandals including:
• Faisal Querishi’s public apology, which took 5 years, made by Ben Roberts in October 2024 HERE
• Tariq Ali’s exclusion from his own pioneering media work in February 2026 HERE
• Stuart Brown Head of Programme and Acquisitions and Professor Clive Nwonka’s ‘appointment’ and subsequent harassment issues in April 2026 HERE
This is apart from the biggest race scandal the BFI has ever seen, the ongoing African Odysseys situation which began in 2024, where in total contrast to the fine words above, the BFI:
• Failed to respect, care for or preserve 20 years of Black led voluntary film exhibition/curation worth at least £6 million pounds but historically priceless HERE
• Failed to honour a written commitment made by Stuart Brown, to have a celebratory season of African Odysseys films throughout 2026
• Refused to run a legally required Race Equality Impact Assessment about African Odysseys despite Stuart Brown and Melanie Hoyes, Director of Inclusion, agreeing to do so with the Steering Committee in July 2024. HERE
• Refused face-to-face conversations with the Steering Committee unilaterally cancelling the only such meeting two hours before it was due to start in January 2025 HERE
• Refused to meet renown race equality campaigner Professor Gus John three times despite his open letter of free advice sent to BFI Chair Jay Hunt and Ben Roberts on 1st October 2024 HERE
• Repeatedly misled the public, their own subscribers and high-profile individuals including MPs
Roberts June 2020 comments continue:
We need to embody the change we want to see, and be accountable as a public institution, looking like and reflecting the public we serve
Six years after he wrote this his Executive Committee remains 88% white. There’s only one Black person at that level, appointed in 2021 in the wake of George Floyd.
At the time of writing there are no Black governors out of 15. This is despite in January 2025 BFI Chair of Governors Jay Hunt announcing in the Houses of Parliament the creation of ‘two anti-racism champions’. HERE Hunt also stated that the anti-racism training at BFI was ‘second to none’ which is questionable considering this petition and the other race scandals shown above.
BFI has not been accountable. For two whole years they failed to answer these 8 simple questions posed by the public.
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?
Further, the BFI have attempted to have this petition taken down, then tried to ignore what 18.350 petitioners want, then tried to mislead those petitioners as well as their own subscribers HERE . While we continue to petition the BFI, they have only once responded to our updates. On 29 Oct 2024 they wrote:
The African Odysseys event series has been a valuable and vitally important part of the BFI programme for 17 years, and it remains so. Contrary to what is suggested in this petition, we have no desire or intention for it to end and we remain committed to it. We want to reassure people by categorically confirming that any outcome of the restructure will not impact or in any way diminish the BFI’s commitment to, or dedicated resourcing of, African Odysseys. Having been in close contact with our partners in the African Odysseys steering committee, the BFI is also fully committed to continuing to work with them positively and collaboratively to programme and present regular African Odysseys events on at least a monthly basis throughout 2025.
As African Odysseys approaches its 20th anniversary in 2026 we have been discussing a celebratory season, and exploring ways to further our commitment to the strand, and how it can best complement the BFI’s commitment to wider Black screen culture platformed through seasons in our cinema and presented online via BFI Player, as well as through extended runs and premieres in our festivals. The latest African Odysseys event at BFI Southbank was on Tuesday 22 October 2024, in connection to the current James Baldwin season which is also supported by African Odysseys, and we have African Odysseys events confirmed for December ‘24 and January ’25. HERE
That first paragraph has not aged well. The BFI cannot ‘commit’ to even answering simple questions, but the statement had no truth to it even in October 2024. African Odysseys ended at the BFI in January 2025 when they ignored all advice, broke their own promises, breached their own equality protocols, the 2010 Public Sector Equality Duty and disregarded almost 20,000 people in order to get rid of David Somerset the co-founder of African Odysseys and delete his 48 week job role meaning the programme could not continue selling out all three cinemas at the BFI which it had done since 2007.
There was no communication between the BFI and African Odysseys Steering Committee as Stuart Brown had told the Committee in writing that he did not wish to talk to them until he felt like it. His refusal to engage with loyal volunteers who had worked for free for 17 years was what led to this petition being launched in September 2024.
The second paragraph mentions films for December 2024 and January 2025, but those films were already programmed 6 months prior. The BFI knew on 29 October 2024 that were no AO films planned past January 2025 as that’s when they planned to remove David Somerset the only person with 17 years knowledge of Black film and the only person who programmed African Odysseys. Stuart Brown already knew that Somerset was overworked in 2023 and promised support which never came. The committee indeed had 13 events of Black filmmakers lined up in late 2024 but the BFI deliberately destroyed the infrastructure to deliver them in January 2025. It is not ‘on pause’.
Roberts in June 2020 continues:
I took on the role of Chief Executive in February with a commitment to colleagues and our Board that I would put us on a path of radical change. This will mean dismantling the biases and hierarchies that are present within the BFI, and doubling-down on our duty as a public organisation to represent and welcome the perspective of all audiences and filmmakers: through our people, our programmes and collections, and the work we fund.
There has been no 'radical change', in fact the BFI has gone backwards by 20 years to when African Odysseys did not exist, when they refused to screen the films of Menelik Shabbaz before African Odysseys brought tens of thousands of global majority people to the Southbank. Everyone who has signed and shared their views through the petition has been totally ignored. Instead, the BFI continues to gaslight the public.
The BFI saw no contradiction to defund the inadequately funded African Odysseys Programme and the staff member who supported it. Meanwhile they happily funded 8 to 12 staff who worked on the BFIs annual Flare programme. In 2025 they advertised for two Flare staff roles totalling £63k. BFI celebrated Flare’s 40th anniversary in 2026 HERE while ensuring that African Odysseys would never have a 20th anniversary in 2026 despite Stuart Browns face to face commitment to the Steering Committee in 2023.
To quote the boss of the BFI again:
We have made progress by setting targets and holding each other to greater account, but the status quo in the film community is undoubtedly still a system that privileges whiteness, and it has persisted for too long.
However it is Roberts, supported by Jason Wood Executive Director for Public Programmes /Audiences and Harriet Finney, Deputy CEO who have helped to maintain it for 'too long' or none of the above could have happened.
African Odysseys continues to show films outside of the BFI using grassroots resources and will soon announce a major conference about Race and funding @BFI.
Please continue to sign and share the petition and attend events