The 2022 BFI London Film Festival — which kicks off in two days time — is losing its director.
Tricia Tuttle, who has led the festival for the last five years in her role as BFI Festivals Director (which also includes overseeing the BFI Flare LGBTQUIA+ festival), has announced that she’s to step down from her role after 10 years at the British Film Institute.
Tuttle will deliver this year’s edition — which launches on Oct. 5 with the world premiere of Roald Dahl’s Matilda the Musical — and remain in her post until early 2023 while the BFI searches for a replacement.
“I have loved everything about my time at the BFI and as the Director of our Festivals. It’s been a deep and genuine privilege to lead BFI London Film Festival and BFI Flare: London LGBTQIA+ Film Festival, and to be a senior leader in an organization that has shaped me as a passionate film fan and a professional working in film,” said Tuttle. “I took the role knowing that I believe in cultural renewal. I came in to make an impact quickly, with an aim to open up our festivals to more people and then pass the baton. And I could not be more proud of what we have achieved in these 5 years, especially given the absolutely wild challenges we have faced! I am leaving on a high and with so much love for the people and the work of the organization.”
Under Tuttle’s leadership, in which she drew up a five-year strategy for the London Film Festival, audiences have grown 76 percent since 2019, while the event has expanded across the U.K., with 39 percent of audiences coming from outside of London in 2021 compared to 10 percent two years earlier. The festival has also shifted from Leicester Square to its new Gala venue at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall.
“Tricia has been the driving force behind the BFI London Film Festival’s transformation over the last five years and it could not be more vital and important than right now,” said BFI Chief Executive Ben Roberts. “I want to thank her for her creative leadership in adapting the LFF and BFI Flare in the face of huge external challenges, creating genuine UK-wide access physically and digitally, putting us on the international stage and, of course, bringing audiences incredible film experiences. Most importantly Tricia is a super smart, generous and collaborative leader and colleague. She leaves an incredible team behind her, and we will celebrate her success at her final festival this year.”
