Barbara Broccoli spent decades as one of the most powerful custodians of a single film franchise. Her next role is about the filmmakers who come after her. The producer best known for the James Bond films has been named president of the UK’s National Film and Television School, becoming the first woman to hold the post in the institution’s history.
The Appointment
Broccoli will take over in February at the school’s Beaconsfield campus in Buckinghamshire. She succeeds Oscar-winning producer David Puttnam, whose credits include Chariots of Fire, The Killing Fields and Midnight Express. Puttnam, who has been involved with the school for more than 50 years, will move into an honorary role as president emeritus. He announced the news on BBC Radio’s Today programme on Thursday.
Broccoli called the appointment a tremendous honour and pointed to her long involvement with the school. She is already an honorary fellow of the NFTS and co-founded the London Screen Academy, a free sixth-form academy for students aged 16 to 19 who want careers in film and television.
A Family Name on Campus
The timing carries personal weight. In January, the school will open the Cubby Broccoli Building, named for her father, Albert R. “Cubby” Broccoli, who established the Bond franchise. Barbara Broccoli formally named the building at a groundbreaking earlier this year and contributed to a time capsule set to be opened in 2071 for the school’s centenary.
The expansion adds 25,000 square feet of teaching space, new courses in costume design and in hair and make-up, more apprenticeship opportunities and, for the first time, purpose-built accessible student accommodation on site.
Why It Matters
Broccoli produced nine Bond films alongside her half-brother, Michael G. Wilson, before Amazon MGM Studios took creative control of the franchise. Many expected her post-Bond chapter to be defined by new productions. This appointment suggests something broader: a shift toward shaping the British industry’s pipeline of talent.
The NFTS, founded in 1971 and renamed in 1982 to reflect its television work, is one of the most respected film schools in the world, and its alumni have gone on to win Oscars, BAFTAs and Emmys. Puttnam described Broccoli taking the role as a wonderful thing for the school.
Legacy in Motion
There is a neat circularity to it all. The family that built one of cinema’s most enduring franchises now has its name on the building where the next generation will train, and its most prominent heir at the head of the institution. For a producer long known for protecting a legacy, this is a chance to build a new one.
