Author | Lightnews

Neil Williams

@neillyneil.bsky.social

1.4K followers 1.2K following 720 posts

Digital and tech exec at the BFI. Previously GOV.UK, and a tough but edifying stint in local gov. Alcohol free. Fun facts: I can't form mental images and have no inner monologue (aphantasia) nor remember my own life (SDAM). https://neilojwilliams.net

neilojwilliams.net

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Jul 16

Me on a pod. Saying the things I say. digitalworkspodcast.buzzsprout.com/841957/episo...

Neil Williams (BFI) on transforming organisations through digital, comparisons between the civil service and the cultural sector, working in the open, and intentionally not empire-building - Digital W...

A conversation recorded in-person (hurray!) with the BFI's Exec Director of Technology and Digital Transformation, Neil Williams.

digitalworkspodcast.buzzsprout.com

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 18h

👻 Halloweeknotes. More accurately, mooOOOoonthnotes. 🎃 neilojwilliams.net/autumnotes-o... #weeknotes #weeknote #blog @weeknotes-bot.bsky.social

Autumnotes: October 2025 | Neil Williams

These notes are a tool I use for reflecting, remembering (to counter my SDAM), networking within my profession, and public accountability. Read more here. Work, work, work Films, films, films Working ...

neilojwilliams.net

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 1d

Cancel those streamers you're not using and subscribe to BFI Player for some quality taste-broadening fare this November: www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-pla...

BFI Player’s November 2025 line-up

Coming to BFI Player this November are films by Bong Joon Ho, Gaspar Noé and Ken Loach, plus a subscription exclusive for Saoirse Ronan in The Outrun.

www.bfi.org.uk

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 1d

I think Uncle Monty would need updating

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 2d

Twin Peaks clothes in Zara is out equivalent of "they're selling hippy wigs in Woolworths, man" isn't it?

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 11d

"Don’t Let Spooky Sounds from Your Pipes Haunt You" is the best bit of nice-try Halloween email marketing I've had so far.

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 11d

Some good shit coming here for Halloween! player.bfi.org.uk/subscription...

Coming soon subscription films | BFI Player

player.bfi.org.uk

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 15d

Loving this HAAi album

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 21d

A long shot...
Taste match with me on YouTube Music! music.youtube.com/playlist?lis...

Taste match

A playlist based on your taste, updated daily

music.youtube.com

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 25d

I seem to have landed in Green Party TikTok and OMG they're speaking some truth. This "bold politics" brand feels genuinely exciting!

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · 29d

A feast for your telly box in October on BFI Player including a couple of Lars von Trier bangers. www.bfi.org.uk/news/bfi-pla...

BFI Player’s October 2025 line-up

Revolutionary voices and radical cinema arrive on demand, including Black History Month, Terence Davies, melodrama and more.

www.bfi.org.uk

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Oct 1

September wrapped neilojwilliams.net/autumnotes-s... @weeknotes-bot.bsky.social #weeknote

Autumnotes: September 2025 | Neil Williams

These notes are a tool I use for reflecting, remembering (to counter my SDAM), networking within my profession, and public accountability. Read more here. Hey you. Doing monthly notes at the moment. S...

neilojwilliams.net

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 30

Oh definitely fuck off with the cute bullshit

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 30

I think the dishwasher manufacturers KNOW FULL WELL it's impossible to pour rinse aid into that stupid flappy hole without getting it everywhere, and they just don't care.

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 26

Whatevs. Just kick out the illegals AND anyone who doesn't have a smartphone.

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 26

No word yet from DSIT or GDS on ID cards... I'm just wondering how solid the plans are to deliver it this Parliament. Bring it on though - about bloody time if you ask me. So much money already wasted trying to work around the lack of them.

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Reposted by Neil Williams

James O'Malley @jamesomalley.co.uk · Sep 25

Want to know how the new digital ID system will work?

Good news! I’ve explained how it will almost certainly work here:

takes.jamesomalley.co.uk/p/britcard

The "BritCard" digital ID proposal is a good idea

Why I've changed my mind on ID cards

takes.jamesomalley.co.uk

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 23

Not sure how many more years I can hear phrases like "taking the papers as read"

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 23

CATFISH HAS BEEN CANCELLED. 😭

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 22

Not sure which annoys me more:
* Radio DJs turning volume up and down repeatedly when talking over music
* Speakers on a video call interrupting themselves with the chat comments which are BY DEFINITION asynchronous

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 19

Ladies and gents I bring you Mark Kermode introducing Nightcrawler, which is his pick of the week on BFI Player. I am obsessed with this nasty film - if you haven't seen it you must! Not least for the masterclass in managing interns. player.bfi.org.uk/subscription...?

Watch Nightcrawler - BFI Player

Jake Gyllenhaal stars as a crime journalist scouring the streets of after-dark LA in a stylish thriller that examines the morals of mass media.

player.bfi.org.uk

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 18

Those Meta AR glasses are pretty cool apart from the fact that the apps and maps are limited to Meta. Hope Google are working on some specs again.

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 18

Can't see a flip chart without wanting to write JUST SACK PAT on it.

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 17

Grateful for Sadiq Khan at moments like this

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Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 8

Qualities I look for in a perfect autumn leaf crunch:
1. Completely dry and crispy leaf
2. Concave and inverted, like a crab shell
3. Exactly where your stride is going to land
4. No traffic noise to ruin it

Neil Williams @neillyneil.bsky.social · Sep 4

BFI Player’s September 2025 line-up

A subscription exclusive from Walter Salles, a transcendent drama about cheese-making and a clutch of classics from Michael Haneke lead BFI Player's September offer.