Isabel Davis has been appointed Director of the BFI Filmmaking Fund.
Davis joins the BFI in October 2026 for a five-year fixed term after eight years as Executive Director of Screen Scotland. Before Screen Scotland, Davis served a lengthy term at the BFI, including as the Head of International.
Davis takes over from Mia Bays, the outgoing Director of the Filmmaking Fund, who has been in the role since October 2021. Films backed by the BFI during Bays’ tenure include Kneecap, My Father’s Shadow, and the BAFTA-winning animated short Two Black Boys in Paradise.
Discussing the hire, BFI CEO Ben Roberts said: “Isabel is tenacious when it comes to doing the right thing for UK independent film and filmmakers. This is such a huge job, a cornerstone of UK independent film, and Isabel brings experience, passion, and a national and a global outlook, and a firm commitment to fairness and public service. She will be an asset to the film community and the BFI.”
Roberts led the recruitment process alongside the BFI’s Deputy CEO Harriet Finney. External panellists were also included during the interview process. They were producers and BFI board members Elizabeth Karlsen and Hakan Kousetta and Nicky Bentham, co-chair of Pact’s Film Producers’ Group.
In a statement, Davis said she was “honoured to be stepping into this role at a time when this public funding is critical to building a successful future for UK film and the public value it represents.”
“It’s a challenging moment for UK independent film, economically and structurally,” she continued. “But audience appetite for great stories, and for the communal experience of cinema-going, is strikingly resurgent and our filmmaking talent continues to be among the world’s best. Enabling filmmakers to produce work that connects with a broad range of audiences across the UK – through ambition, inventiveness and heart – has to be at the core of our response. Daunting, yes, but exciting too.”
Davis ended her statement: “I’ll bring my experience in Scotland to this role, and with it a truly UK-wide perspective on the BFI’s support of independent film. So Scotland hasn’t seen the last of me – nor indeed have Northern Ireland, Wales and the English regions.”
Films backed by the BFI Film Fund this year include Shalini Adnani’s Our Share of Sand, which is set for Venice, Theo Rhys’s Stuffed, a Toronto world premiere starring Jodie Comer and Harry Melling, and Clio Barnard’s I See Building Fall Like Lightning, which won the People’s Choice award in Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes.
