Lifetime Achievement Award 2026
FOCAL International to Honour Jane Fish
The FOCAL International Lifetime Achievement Award is given by the FOCAL International executive board to an individual who has contributed to and supported the audiovisual archive industry within their career and through their body of work
We are delighted to announce that the 2026 recipient is Jane Fish.
Join us in congratulating Jane at the 23rd FOCAL International Awards on Thursday, 18 June 2026, at Church House Westminster, London.
----------
About Jane Fish
Jane Fish has dedicated more than forty years to the Imperial War Museums (IWM). She is a trusted advisor to researchers, archive producers, and broadcasters in the UK and internationally, guiding them on content, historical context, and copyright, and overseeing research, access, supply, and licensing. Across decades of technological change and organisational restructure, she remains a constant source of expertise, adapting processes from analogue to digital and developing new approaches to meet complex project demands.
Jane has led and contributed to major initiatives to improve access to IWM’s film holdings, including successive developments of IWM Film, and continues to be a thoughtful advocate for the ethical use of archive footage, presenting on the subject and helping shape policy.
A longstanding supporter of FOCAL International, Jane has served on its Executive Council, Events Committee, and FOCAL International Awards jury, championing the responsible and creative use of archive film. More recently, she focuses on cataloguing IWM’s original film paperwork, enhancing understanding of both the historical context of film production and the evolution of the museum’s collections.
----------
Jane Fish shares her career trajectory with FOCAL
My forty-plus years at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) started inauspiciously in 1980 as personal assistant to the then Keeper of the Department of Film - I was always amazed that I got the job as my secretarial “skills” were modest… to say the least!
Once at IWM, I quickly understood the nature of the film historical records held by the museum - important, unique, and endlessly revealing – and took my earliest opportunity to work directly with the collection. Within a year, I was working in what was known as the “Production Office”, dealing with all manner of enquiries relating to research, access, supply, and licensing of IWM film collection content.
For the next four decades, I continued to work with researchers and archive producers in the UK and worldwide, advising on content, context and copyright, assisting with research and organising supply and licensing, whilst constantly learning more about the film collection and always relishing finding an answer to a question that had not been asked before. Broadcast projects often required me to initiate new ways of working to fulfil atypical requests or to meet challenging deadlines. Through these years, the processes for research, access and supply changed dramatically (analogue to digital), my role changed titles, and I weathered internal restructures, all while continuing to offer a constant service to external researchers and sharing my knowledge with IWM colleagues.
Over the past twenty years, I led, or worked on, many projects to provide better access to IWM’s film collection, including several iterations of IWM Film. Along with my IWM colleagues, I have an ongoing concern about the ethics of the use of archive film and have presented on this subject and worked on new policies for use.
In addition to dealing with research requests and access projects, I have an interest in amateur film, and my personal research formed the basis of an episode of the 2008 BBC Four series The Thirties in Colour and the 2012 award-winning DVD release Rosie Newman’s Britain at War in Colour.
Since its inception, I have been an active supporter of FOCAL International and its work in promoting the use of archive film, volunteered for the Executive Council and Events Committee and served on FOCAL Award juries.
Over the past two years, I have moved away from dealing directly with research and access requests and am using my acquired knowledge to catalogue IWM’s archive of original film paperwork to make these documents available for a better understanding of the context in which films were made, as well as revealing more of the history of IWM’s collections.
----------
Jane Fish said:
"I am stunned and delighted to receive this award from FOCAL, which I humbly accept. I see this award not only as an appreciation of my long career though constantly changing times for both archives and archive users, but also as a tribute for the work done by all archive staff to make their content available for users."
FOCAL International stated:
“We are delighted to celebrate Jane’s incredible contributions to FOCAL and also honour her dedication to IWM and the wider industry.
For nine years, Jane has been a cornerstone of FOCAL, serving on the board from 2013 to 2022 and expertly chairing the Events committee through several transformations.
Known for her integrity, wisdom, and positive spirit, Jane elevates every meeting with thoughtful questions and constructive dialogue. Her generous mentorship and unwavering support continue to shape FOCAL's success and strengthen our community.
Jane's contributions are further celebrated through the wonderful accolades she has received from colleagues and peers at IWM and beyond.”
----------
Previous Lifetime Achievement Award winners include Declan Smith, Eric Kulberg, Sue Malden, Bríd Dooley, film director Julian Temple, pioneer filmmaker Gerry Weinburn, and Emmy-nominated director-producer Serge Viallet.
For further information, please get in touch with us at [email protected]