What's New

Film Index International is updated with new content twice-yearly; this page highlights feature enhancements that are being added or that will be added soon.

Additional film and person records

This release of Film Index International contains the most recent data produced by the editorial staff at the British Film Institute (bfi). Film Index International provides in-depth indexing of over 120,000 films and information on nearly 720,000 personalities. (added March 2006).

Linking from Film Index International

For institutions that employ a link resolver, there are two types of outbound linking now available in Film Index International:

  • Reference Linking
    Search the library's holdings for the full text of journal articles listed in the References section of the Film and Person records.
  • Film Finder
    Find the dvd or video of a film indexed in Film Index International in your library catalogue by clicking on the link in each Film record.

To enable linking functionality you should contact your librarian or systems administrator who can access information on linking in the Information Resources area of Film Index International. (added September 2005).

Z39.50 Compliance

Film Index International is now compliant with the Z39.50 standard, allowing searching via federated search engines and other remote systems. Information on how to enable searching via Z39.50 can be found in the Information Resources area of the service. (added September 2005).

Enhancements to Navigation and Functionality

  • Citation generation
    This allows users to export citations directly into the reference manager software applications EndNote, ProCite, Reference Manager or RefWorks, or to save citations as a plain text file.
  • Improved navigation within records
    We have added jump-down links in film and person records. These links go straight to the References section of the record and are designed to reduce the amount of scrolling.
  • User Information
    To help users get the most out of Film Index International, search tips have now been added. To access this information, click on the links which are accessible from the About page of the service.
  • MARC record
    A MARC record is available for Film Index International which contains a OpenURL link directly to the home page allowing Film Index International to become fully integrated with your library system. Librarians can download this from the Information Resources area of the service.

(added September 2005)

Athens authentication

Film Index International is now Athens compliant. Institutions wishing to enable access via Athens should e-mail customer_service@proquest.co.uk to request this facility. Once it is activated, users can log on using their Athens username and password. (added August 2004)

Durable URLs for each film and person record

A new feature enabling you to generate a Durable URL (OpenURL format) for each film and person record has been added to Film Index International. These URLs can be used in learning materials, course pages or websites to enable direct linking to these records in Film Index International.

The 'Durable URL' link is included on every film and person record screen (next to the 'refine this search' link). Clicking on this link generates a pop-up containing the durable link, which can then be copied and pasted to enable direct navigation to the record. (added March 2004)

E-mail selected records in HTML format

You now have the option to e-mail your selected records in plain text or in HTML format. The new HTML option displays each record in a format similar to the layout of the site. (added March 2004)

Enhanced searching for awards

We've added extra flexibility to searching the comprehensive range of awards in Film Index International. New search options have been added to the search screen ('film search' and 'person search' screens) so you can choose to find any of the awards you select, or alternatively all of the selected awards. (added March 2004)

Synopsis search field

A new 'synopsis' search field has been introduced to the film search screen to enable you to find keywords specifically in the film synopses. (added March 2004)

British Film Institute's (bfi) editorial policy

You can now find out more about how the bfi's editorial team chooses what films get included in Film Index International and why. Information on the bfi's editorial policy is now available from the 'About this site' link. (added March 2004)

Features in the new web version of Film Index International (launched May 2003)

Easy navigation and searching

Film Index International enables you to find in-depth information on films and film people, quickly and easily. A Quick search is included on the home page for immediate access to the wealth of content in the site.

More advanced searches allow in-depth, detailed searching for information about people, (Person search) and films (Film search). Eighteen different search fields allow you to focus your searches on specific Awards, or search for films released during a range of years, for example. You can also refine your searches to widen or pinpoint your results. Person search results are returned alphabetically by surname, and Film search results are returned in reverse-chronological order by default and can be resorted alphabetically.

Detailed information for your research

Film records contain detailed film information including the director, full cast and crew lists, year of release and production information. Credits, awards and a synopsis are also included. Person records include complete biographical information, a list of Awards received, plus a complete list of the films the subject featured in. Each record is hyperlinked to other related records, enabling you to navigate from the listed films to the corresponding film record. References to film journals are also cited in many film and person records, allowing you to extend your research.

Selected records

During your research, you can select those film and person records that are of particular interest and add them to a Selected records list. On the selected records page, notes can be added to each record and you can print or e-mail the entire list.

Search history

The Search history logs all searches run in one user session. The details of each search are summarised and you can re-execute, refine or combine these searches.

Information resources

This area of the site contains resources and information for librarians and administrators about Film Index International.

Usage statistics are accessible from Information resources. These are based on International Coalition of Library Consortia (ICOLC) guidelines, are easy to collate and give a full breakdown of access statistics.

Information on how to obtain eye-catching posters and promotional material to raise awareness of Film Index International in your library is included. You can also request informative user guides, which give you an introduction to searching and browsing Film Index International, as well as including sample searches to enable users to get the most out of the service.

Help

Help files are provided to answer any queries you may have about using Film Index International. These are context sensitive so that clicking the 'Help' link provides the most relevant information.

Further support is available if you contact us. The "contact us" link can be found at the bottom of each page of the site. We will respond to queries as soon as possible, generally within 24 hours of receiving the e-mail.