Isabel Davies has been appointed as the new Director of Film Industry Funds at the BFI National Lottery. She will take over from Mia Baez later this year.
Davies will be responsible for managing a £20 million ($26.6 million) annual fund, which will go towards growing a culturally vibrant, inclusive and original independent film sector here in the UK. Among the features Bayes supported in the post was 2025 Patella, My father’s shadowand Two black boys in heaven.
She will join the BFI in October for a fixed term of five years after eight years as CEO of Screen Scotland, where she championed the Scottish screen industry and “was pivotal to its transformation and growth”.
Davis replaces Baez, who has led the fund since 2021. Baez follows him Hollywood Reporter This year is just about being in the most dangerous job in British film.
“I am honored to step into this role at a time when this public funding is crucial to building the successful future of UK film and the public value it represents,” Davis said. “It’s a challenging moment for independent films in the UK, both economically and structurally. But audiences’ appetite for great stories, and for the collective experience of going to the cinema, is remarkably renewed, and our filmmaking talent continues to be among the best in the world. Empowering filmmakers to produce work that connects with a wide range of audiences across the UK – through ambition, innovation and heart – must be at the heart of our response. It’s daunting, yes, but also exciting.”
She added: “My excitement has been tempered only by sadness at leaving Scotland, which I have been lucky enough to call home for most of my adult life, including through the creative resurgence of the past eight years.” “A huge thank you to my colleagues at Screen Scotland, whose talent, hard work and good nature serve our industry, audiences and young people with such positive impact, and to my colleagues at Creative Scotland for their support.”
Davis’ appointment follows a rigorous interview process, which saw a wide and diverse range of candidates considered. To ensure independent voices from the industry had input into the decision, external interview panellists included producers and BFI board members Elisabeth Carlsen and Håkan Kusetta, and producer Nicky Bentham as co-chair of Pact’s Film Producers Group, while CEO Ben Roberts and deputy CEO Harriet Finney were among those representing the BFI.
The CEO joins during an exciting year for the BFI Film Fund, with titles announced this week for world premieres at upcoming major festivals: Our share of sand (Shalini Adnani) in Venice and stuffed (Theo Rhys) at the Toronto International Film Festival. newcomer Lewis Paxton opens the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) next month alongside him Additional geography (dir. Molly Manners), which previously premiered at Sundance, and there Simon Ryninks will have his world premiere at the Edinburgh Competition Selection.
elsewhere, I see the building falling like lightning Cleo Barnard premiered at Cannes and won the People’s Choice Award at the Directors’ Fortnight Animolfrom AdolescenceAshley Walters’ film had its world premiere at the Berlinale and won the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film. Mrs. Olive Nwosu premiered at Sundance and won the Special Jury Award for Ensemble Acting Nest (Imran Beretta) will be released on Friday in cinemas across the UK.
