Who we are

The British Film Commission (BFC) is the national agency with a remit to maximise and support the production of international feature film and television in the UK.

What we do

The BFC’s Government-set remit

  • Maximise and support the production of major international feature film and high-end television in the UK;
  • Strengthen and promote the UK’s film and television infrastructure;
  • Liaise between the Government and the film and television industry to secure and maintain film-friendly policies.

With offices in the UK and the US, we provide free, tailored production support at the highest level, from the earliest stages of development through to post-production, including guidance on the UK’s competitive film and television tax reliefs and assistance with sourcing key crew, studios, facilities and locations.

The BFC helps with

  • Bespoke production support and troubleshooting;
  • Assistance with sourcing studios, facilities, locations, key crew and talent for major productions;
  • Comprehensive guidance on the UK’s film and TV tax reliefs and production funding;
  • Advice on production-related regulations and permits including visas;
  • Introductions to expertise throughout the UK via our network of public and commercial industry partners;
  • Liaison between government and industry to ensure the UK remains the best place to produce film and TV.

Working with the UK's nations and regions

Whether sourcing key crew and stage space, or advising on visas and tax relief, we provide a single point of contact for international productions looking to produce content in the UK, from development through to post-production.

We partner with colleagues in the screen agency network that provides full coverage of all four UK nations – Creative Wales, Filming in England, Film London, Northern Ireland Screen and Screen Scotland  – from supporting new stage space development to location troubleshooting.

Who we are

Meet the team

UK office

Adrian Wootton OBE – CEO

Daniela Kirchner – Chief Operating Officer

Samantha Perahia MBE  Head of Production UK

Jeremy Pelzer – Senior Stage Space Strategy Consultant

James Butler – Senior Policy Advisor

Abee McCallum – Production Support Manager

Gareth Kirkman – UK Business and Industry Development Manager

Tim Reynard – Industry Support Executive

Sonya Watt – Executive Assistant to the CEO, Team & Events Coordinator

Kei Masuda – Information and Administration Assistant

Lourdes Walsh – Stage Space Development

 

US office

Kattie Kotok – Executive Vice President, US Production

Sorrel Geddes – Senior Vice President of US Production and Events

Rebecca Valadez – Coordinator, Industry Relations

 

Communications

Lauren Preteceille – Head of Communications and External Affairs

Haylie Read  Head of PR and Marketing

Betty Aldous – Communications Manager 

Sara Oberthaler – Communications and Marketing Consultant

Omar Waary – PR and Marketing Coordinator

 

Finance Team

Anchal Clarke – Senior Financial Executive

Priya Chhita – Financial Controller

Lucy Fitch – Financial Executive

National Advisory Board

 

Iain Smith – Chairman, BFC National Advisory Board

Adrian Wootton – CEO, British Film Commission & Film London

Alex Hope – VFX Consultant

Alex Gillespie – Head of Film and High End TV, Media & Creative Industries Directorate, DCMS

Andrew Harrower – CEO, Director’s UK

Andrew Moultrie – CEO, BBC Studioworks

Andrew M Smith – Corporate Affairs Director, Pinewood Group Ltd

Ben Holt – Director, Original Series Production, Netflix

Caroline Norbury – CEO, Creative England

Charles Moore – Partner, Wiggin

Daniel Battsek – Chairman, Film London

Emily Stillman Senior Vice President, Warner Bros. Studios Leavesden

Harriet Finney – Director of External Affairs, British Film Institute

Hayley Armstrong – Head of Production Services, Creative England

Isabel Davis – Executive Director, Screen Scotland

Joedi Langley – Head of Sector, Creative Industries, Department for Culture, Sport and Tourism, Welsh Government

John Graydon – Partner, Saffery Film & TV Unit & BFC Deputy Chair

John McVay – CEO, Producers’ Association of Cinema & Television (Pact)

Justine Simons – Deputy Mayor for Culture, Mayor of London’s Office

Laura Mansfield – CEO, ScreenSkills

Lyndsay Duthie – CEO, The Production Guild of Great Britain

Michelle Jenkins – Head of Production Services, Film London

Namit Malhotra – CEO, DNEG

Neil Hatton – CEO, UK Screen Alliance

Pete Johnson – CEO, British Screen Forum (BSF)

Peter Armstrong – Partner, Film & Television, Harbottle & Lewis

Richard Williams – CEO, Northern Ireland Screen

Roy Button – Production Consultant

Rupert Daniels – Director, Creative, Lifestyle and Learning | International Trade & Investment, DBT

Sara Putt – MD, Sara Putt Associates

Samantha Perahia – Head of Production UK, British Film Commission

Spencer Macdonald – Federation of Entertainment Unions (FEU)

William Sargent – CEO, Framestore

Our funders

We work in partnership with key film industry bodies and are funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport through the British Film Institute and the Department for Business and Trade.

The BFC has industry sponsors who form the membership of the agency’s innovative public/private partnership: Angels Costumes, Bray Film Studios, The Walt Disney Studios, Harbottle & Lewis, HBO, Movie Makers, Netflix, Pinewood Studios, Saffery, Warner Bros., 3 Mills Studios, BBC Studio Works, DNEG, Elstree Studios, FirstStage Studios, Framestore, The Bottle Yard Studios and Working Title.

The British Film Commission is the national division of Film London.

Film London is a company limited by guarantee, registered in England and Wales no. 4699825. Registered charity no. 1163968.

Sponsors

The British Film Commission would like to thank our generous commercial sponsors, who support our work in attracting inward investment, promoting the UK production industry, building professional networks and making the UK film-friendly.