Brian Robinson, a long-serving executive at the British Film Institute, died from brain cancer. He had worked at the BFI since 1987, initially joining as a press officer before moving into communications roles. Beginning in 2000, he became a key member of the programming team for the BFI’s London Lesbian & Gay film festival, which was rebranded as BFI Flare in 2014. He remained involved with the festival until stepping down in 2024 following a diagnosis of glioblastoma.
Robinson was born in Portadown, County Armagh, in Northern Ireland, to Sophia Hewitt, a primary schoolteacher, and Robert Robinson, a pharmaceuticals company owner. He attended the Royal school in Armagh and studied law and French at Sussex University, graduating in 1981. That same year, he met Pas Paschali, a journalist, at a London party. The two became civil partners in 2007 and married in 2017. Before his BFI career, Robinson worked at the Greater London council information centre and the Association of London Authorities.
Robinson was known within London’s LGBTQ+ film community as a prominent advocate for queer cinema and a charismatic public figure. He co-founded the queer arts and culture magazine Square Peg in 1983 alongside Paschali. Beyond film work, Robinson was recognized as a curator of art, design, and people, maintaining a London home decorated in 1960s pop art aesthetics. His collection included rare furnishings loaned to exhibitions, including pieces used in the Design Museum’s Stanley Kubrick exhibition in 2019. He also served on selection juries for major international film festivals, including the Teddy award at the Berlinale, the Queer Palm at Cannes, the Queer Lion at Venice, and the Iris prize in the UK.
Robinson is survived by his husband Pas, his brother Mark, and his sister Linda.
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