London, UK – The British Film Institute (BFI) has announced the appointment of Isabel Davis as the new Director of its National Lottery Filmmaking Fund. Davis, who currently serves as Executive Director of Screen Scotland, will take over from Mia Bays later this year, assuming responsibility for managing an annual fund of £20 million ($26.6 million). The role, described by Bays as the “riskiest job” in U.K. film, is crucial for cultivating a culturally vibrant, inclusive, and original independent film sector.
Davis joins the BFI in October on a five-year fixed term, bringing with her a distinguished track record of championing the Scottish screen industry. During her eight years at Screen Scotland, she has been central to its transformation and growth. She will be responsible for overseeing a fund that has backed critically acclaimed features including Kneecap, My Father’s Shadow, and Two Black Boys in Paradise under Bays’s tenure. “I’m honored to be stepping into this role at a time when this public funding is critical to building a successful future for U.K. film,” Davis said. She acknowledged the challenging economic and structural moment for U.K. independent film but noted that “audience appetite for great stories, and for the communal experience of cinema-going, is strikingly resurgent.”
The appointment follows a rigorous interview process that included a diverse pool of candidates. External panelists involved in the decision included producers and BFI board members Elizabeth Karlsen and Hakan Kousetta, producer Nicky Bentham as co-chair of Pact’s Film Producers’ Group, with BFI CEO Ben Roberts and deputy CEO Harriet Finney representing the institute. Davis expressed her excitement tempered with sadness at leaving Scotland, where she has called home for much of her adult life, thanking her Screen Scotland colleagues and partners at Creative Scotland for their support.
Davis steps into the role during a vibrant year for the BFI Filmmaking Fund, with several supported titles set for major festival premieres. These include Our Share of Sand (Shalini Adnani) at Venice and Stuffed (Theo Rhys) at Toronto. The Incomer (Louis Paxton) opens the Edinburgh International Film Festival, alongside Extra Geography (Molly Manners), while Out There (Simon Ryninks) will premiere in Edinburgh’s competition selection. Other successes under the fund include I See Building Fall Like Lightning (Clio Barnard), which won the People’s Choice award in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes, and Animol (Ashley Walters), which earned a FIPRESCI prize at the Berlinale. Davis’s appointment signals a new chapter for the fund, with a focus on enabling filmmakers to produce work that connects with broad audiences through ambition, inventiveness, and heart.
