How to find content:
BFI expert curators group most of our films into unique collections, which highlight their significance, whether they’re cultural, award-winning, by a renowned director or they represent a landmark moment in film.
Some collections tie in with BFI events, and some themes are repeated across rentals, subscription and free.
You can also navigate by genre, popularity, and those recently added - and our search tool allows for specific filtered results.
Most of our free films were shot in Britain and can be found via the Britain on Film map. Where the film is owned by a regional / or other non-BFI archive, its logo is usually displayed as well as a link to the archive.
You can also find out about new and topical films and collections by signing up to our email newsletters when you create an account, or via Account/Profile.
How we select content:
Our aim is to help users see something different - so we focus on British and European independent films, as well as offering international releases.
In Rentals, we do offer the best of the latest releases, but we also prioritise films from our UK festivals, such as the BFI London Film Festival, and BFI Flare - which also represents our diverse audiences.
In Subscription, we aim to present the best in classic arthouse cinema and contemporary classics, many representing landmark moments in film.
Our programming also adheres closely with the BFI’s wider cultural programme, complementing its seasonal programming of our UK venues, film distribution and DVD/Blu-ray publishing strands.
Our free archive films highlight the best of the BFI National Archive as well as UK national, regional and partner archives. These include features and shorts - by professional and amateur filmmakers - of British life as well as newsreels, adverts, films from cultural and academic institutions, and some international films.
The availability of all our films is dependent on rights agreements with licensors, and our paid-for films follow cinema and DVD/Blu-ray release schedules and prices.
As members of the British Board of Film Classification’s BBFC online service, we work to ensure films: are rated for use on Video on Demand; and have the same age rating as you will see at a UK cinema or on a DVD/Blu-ray release.
Many free films are certified ‘not rated’, but you still need to accept guidance before watching. Some films have had no rating added by the original archive.