Our Marketing and Outreach officer Holly spoke to the Media Club at TAPE Community Music and Film about their Neighbourhood Cinema project and how they programme and market films to rural communities in North Wales.
What is the Neighbourhood Cinema project?
We launched a cinema project called ‘Neighbourhood Cinema’ for communities across North Wales in 2023, with support from Film Hub Wales via BFI National Lottery funding. The project currently runs screenings at The Luxor Community Cinema in Llanfairfechan, various sites across Anglesey via Mencap Môn and at TAPE’s base in Colwyn Bay. We’re also exploring a number of ongoing partnerships with the aim of bringing films to communities where it’s more difficult to access regular film screenings.
What is the Media Club at TAPE and how is it involved?
Specialising in creative inclusion, we ‘co-created’ the project in collaboration with our Media Club – a safe and supportive space which offers hands on experiences to a cohort of people from across the local community. The Media Club focuses on giving people aged 18 and over the opportunity to gain experience in podcasting, sound recording, film reviews and cinema programming. The club meets weekly as a part of TAPE’s session schedule.
How do you programme films?
We watch films as a club. Sometimes we watch them at home by ourselves or as a group. We then
come together to discuss whether we think they will be good choices for us here at TAPE and the other Neighbourhood Cinema venues we programme for. Recently, the group all really enjoyed Snow Leopard, The Mountain Within Me and Strange Darlings. We are keen to fit those into ours and Llanfairfechan’s programmes somewhere! Snow Leopard was one of the best films we have seen in a long time, it was absolutely brilliant. We try to pick films that people wouldn’t necessarily choose to watch or can’t find at mainstream cinemas, so we can provide that experience for them.
Do you try to estimate audience numbers for your screenings?
We do try to estimate numbers for the screenings as we programme. It’s difficult to be concrete about it as a lot of our screenings are free. People sign up for tickets but may not make it to the screening. We’ve tried lots of different ideas to retain as many people as possible, but you can’t win against the elements! If it’s been raining all day, we have reduced numbers (even though a rainy day is the perfect excuse to hide away at the cinema!)
With the Neighbourhood Cinema project, we’re trying to work with venues in places people can get to despite weather and transport issues. Small rural villages are perfect because people do tend to make the journey if the film is really good and they can walk to it (and we always programme really good films!)
The Luxor Community Cinema in Llanfairfechan is a really good example of this. They hit the ground running with their first two screenings. I was at The Sound of Music screening and it was packed – the atmosphere was fantastic and we had such a good time. They also screened Brian and Charles and they had a great crowd there as well. After both screenings, they received feedback from the audience and there is a real enthusiasm there. People are making suggestions about what they want to see, and it feels like the venue has become involved within the community straight away and we have a really good partnership.
It’s great to hear that the Luxor has had such an amazing start! What do you think is working particularly well in Llanfairfechan?
Chris Potter, who runs the community hall is really active in running the whole centre. They are constantly telling people about the cinema and the upcoming screenings. The venue is already very well used by the local community, but the cinema has generated a lot of excitement in t
he village so there is enthusiasm there from the very start. They’ve also ensured that the community a part of the cinema experience, asking them for feedback on the screenings and suggestions about what they would like to see in the future. I think the village has wanted the cinema back for a long time.
We helped them out with the opening of the cinema, as we loaned them our air-screen whilst they crowd-funded the money for some permanent projection kit. We didn’t want them to have to wait any longer!
I think it was also a great idea to show The Sound of Music as their first screening, as it was the film that they were going to show before the Luxor Cinema closed down in 1964. The apprentice projectionist from 1964 actually came along to the screening as he still lives in the village, which just adds to the local history of it all! The Luxor is such a good example of what happens when you have the perfect venue and the perfect team.
Where do you go from the programming stage? What sort of marketing do you currently do to spread the word about your screenings?
We’re very active on our social media platforms – we mainly use Instagram and Facebook. We also produce an audio podcast that goes out every Saturday and they’ve been doing really well. Local radio has been really important for us, they’re supportive of our regular bespoke adverts for the events. It always feels like there is more marketing that we can do, and it is crucial to give people as much time as possible to find out about our events.
Is there anything else that you have done outside of marketing to increase engagement with your programme?
We’ve just started to do some programming with partner organisations. We started by working with Mencap Môn to programme for the Oriel Môn venue in Anglesey and that has been amazing from the start. We have just started to work with an organisation called Anheddau, which is a disability services and support organisation here in North Wales. They want to engage with the people who use their services more, so we are creating a bespoke programme together, which will be really special. We’re also in the process of talking with organisations like Mind to create similar bespoke programmes there as well.
We’ve also been doing some outreach screenings at film locations which has been really fun. We hosted a Halloween screening of our second feature film Approaching Shadows at the pub featured in the film. The screening was packed! The crowd were raucous in the best way and they loved it, it worked really well. We’re planning on going back to that same village in January to screen Brian and Charles, as that was also filmed there! It is a different way to engage these communities with Welsh films as well which is nice.
It’s a really exciting time for the project and we can’t wait to see where it goes in 2025.
Find out more about the Neighbourhood Cinema project here.
BFI FAN CON is a brand new conference for BFI FAN (Film Audience Network) members, from small community cinemas and touring collectives right up to large multi-screen independent cinemas and landmark film festivals. The inaugural event took place in September 2024 (Belfast) and Ellys attended on behalf of Cardiff Animation Festival.
Here’s what Ellys told us about her experience:
I had a brilliant time attending my first BFI FAN CON in Belfast. I attended a lot of insightful talks, discussions and training sessions and it was brilliant to meet everyone and talk so passionately about film exhibition and festivals.
Ellys attended the following talks, all of which she found were engaging and informative:
The ‘Family Fortunes: Reaching Families and Children‘ talk was presented by Exeter Phoenix and Cinemagic Film Festival which explored how they have successfully engaged children / family audiences with their programme and developed a sustainable practice with families being one of their biggest audiences. This is something Cardiff Animation Festival will consider when programming in the future and how they can bring new content to families that would otherwise not have access to it on the big screen.
Read more about all the sessions above.
A community engagement session, We’ll Come to You: People-Centred Approaches to Film Exhibition (curated by Linnea Pettersson) explored potential barriers for audiences from underserved socio economic backgrounds and what can be done to to address them – this was helpful for Ellys in relation to the touring programmes they offer to communities across Wales and how they can consider a people-centred approach to their programming.
Linnea Pettersson is the BFI FAN Socio Economic Champion, read more and find resources here.
Ellys made several new connections with festivals and cinema programmers across the UK and Ireland which could result in more exciting collaborations for Cardiff Animation Festival in future. The new knowledge, training insights and contacts will be shared with the festival team to continue improving Cardiff Animation Festival events for the years ahead.
…the lunches and dinners at BFI FAN CON were a great, relaxed networking opportunity to meet fellow film exhibitors and gain an insight into how everyone approaches their work in a similar role to me – which is something I don’t often get the chance to experience.
Ellys attended BFI FAN CON with the support of Film Hub Wales via our Bursary scheme. If you want to attend a meeting, course or event that would benefit your organisation and develop audiences but the costs are prohibitive, you can submit an application for support here.
As actor Mark Lewis Jones’ latest film Portraits of Dangerous Women hit cinema screens on October 11th 2024, he’s also is preparing to receive the BAFTA Cymru 2024 Siân Phillips Award. Across his 38-year acting career, he’s starred in a host of critically-acclaimed films and television dramas. To celebrate this achievement, we’ve curated a list of some of Mark’s films from our Made in Wales catalogue.
To see Mark’s full filmography and TV credits, click here.
Every time you watch a film on a big screen, a team of people are working hard behind the scenes to make sure that you have the best experience. This year, we’ll be introducing you to the people behind our funded projects – the hidden figures of film exhibition in Wales. From project directors to curators and marketing specialists who all put inclusion at the heart of their exhibition activities…
Sheffield DocFest is the UK’s leading documentary festival and one of the world’s most influential markets for documentary projects. They champion and present the breadth of documentary form – film, television, immersive and art – in the vibrant city of Sheffield each June at Showroom Cinema.
Paul was hoping to attend workshops, film screenings, meet filmmakers and event organisers to explore collaborations with Sol Cinema which brings new audiences to see short films they wouldn’t usually see.
Here’s what Paul told us about his festival experience:
I attended a VR workshop and will be exploring new options around that. I was impressed with the software DocFest used for including live audio translations at each panel discussion and I shall explore this for future Sol Cinema events.
DocFest brought together filmmakers from across the world and Paul felt inspired by the networking sessions, workshops and film premieres he attended. A funding panel outlined the need to think differently about where to source funds, he gained insights into the current climate of the creative industries and he met potential new bookings for Sol Cinema.
Paul attended the Sheffield DocFest with the support of Film Hub Wales via our Bursary scheme. If you want to attend a meeting, course or event that would benefit your organisation and develop audiences but the costs are prohibitive, you can submit an application for support here.
Update from Manager, Hana Lewis.
I’m going to start with a thank you, to all of you that gave up your time to come to meetings and fill in consultation surveys in 2022, as the BFI shaped their Screen 2023 strategy. The fact that we all came together with the same goal of championing film exhibition in Wales, is something we’re personally very grateful for and we don’t underestimate the value of your time.
Many of you will have seen the recent announcement from the BFI that the BFI Film Audience Network will continue beyond April 2023 as part of their 10-year National Lottery Funding Strategy. I’m delighted to say that Film Hub Wales, with Chapter as the Hub Lead Organisation, is one of 11 UK-wide strategic partners to receive National Lottery Funding from the BFI to continue developing cinema audiences for UK independent and international film.
What does this mean for Wales? Film Hub Wales will receive an award of £895,500 over the three-year strategy (£286,900 annually). This award will be split across skills development, audience research, communications, a new ‘spotlight’ project and the film exhibition fund – which will re-launch in late March / early April. The training bursary fund and pitch pot will remain open year-round with renewed budget in April.
Based on what you told us during the consultation and the challenging landscape across exhibition, we are making some adjustments to our programmes. We’re planning on running quarterly programming sessions online to give us a chance to actually talk about the best new film releases. We’re also aiming to get together more, including an annual event where we can share ideas. We’re also talking to the National Screen and Sound Archive for Wales about access to Welsh content and exploring the costs of digitisation for key titles.
Our Made in Wales project which celebrates films with Welsh connections, is currently funded to March 31st 2023 and we are working on the future funding plan, with films such as India’s 1st Best Trans Model Agency and Comrade Tambo’s London Recruits in our calendar. We will also work with our partners at Ffilm Cymru Wales / BFI Network Cymru to champion new and emerging filmmakers across the UK.
We will collaborate with BFI Film Academy Plus, the newly named UK-wide in-venue education offer, which will help to connect 16- to 25-year-olds to film culture and career pathways. Also led by Chapter in Wales, funding will support masterclasses, screenings and bursaries. The scheme will help young film enthusiasts to learn about the industry, watch cultural cinema, get to know their local venues and develop skills as independent filmmakers and curators.
There will be additional new activities across the wider BFI Film Audience Network, which we’ll discuss with you in the coming weeks as those plans are established.
Finally, we are truly saddened that the FAN Inclusive Cinema (IC) project comes to an end in March. There is still so much work to be done but we are proud of our ambitions and the contributions that we have made. We extend our deepest thanks to IC’s partners and advisers. We wave goodbye to Toki Allison, our talented IC Project Manager, as she heads on to an exciting new role. You will be able to access some fantastic new resources in the final weeks of the project including Trans Loving Care and Working-Class Cinema. We will update you on how to access resources created across the life of the project in the coming months.
We hope you can join us for Hub Helo at Hay Castle on the 23rd March, where we’ll talk more about the year ahead.
Until then – long live cinema.
IYMS is an annual two-week event that brings together young people from different cultures to create media projects aimed at inspiring their own generation to take action and responsibility for the future. By confronting and examining global problems and exploring solutions together, they are bound in a shared purpose. Working toward a common goal and being accountable for a concrete creative product within a limited time period provides the perfect “stew” for collaboration. Here’s what Dion told us about the trip:
Attending IYMS was an eye-opening experience that broadened my mind about what we can do in Wales. While the primary basis of the summit is to empower change through filmmaking, it also gives you opportunities to meet like-minded programmers, activists and filmmakers from all across the globe.
Throughout a fortnight, the challenge was to create a PSA (Public Service Announcement) over seven topics the IYMS wanted to eradicate in the world through diplomacy and film. They are youth empowerment, environment, violence, women’s rights, poverty, health and discrimination. Each group were split into young filmmakers, young diplomats and advisors who all worked together to create a short film about their subject matter with the help of their mentor who worked within the assigned fields. By the end of the summit, they would have a completed film that will be shared with international audiences at film festivals, on YouTube and through their partners, including UNESCO.
There are various ways to encourage and embrace heritage, language and culture, from Afghanistan to Nepal to Norway. Each day there were numerous opportunities to hear about different nations, how they promote their countries’ work, and the best models to exhibit the films. While many have expressed their frustrations about funding and sharing their voices globally, the summit allows you to develop and work on further collaborations beyond the two-week summit.
One of the main reasons Wicked Wales wanted to attend the summit was to engage with more young people. As they were the ones making the films and making positive changes in their communities, it was an enlightening experience. Hearing about the various programs they work on and their viewing habits benefited us as an organisation and for Wales as a whole. The diversity of delegates gave a fresh perspective on what works well for us and where we can improve and further diversity and inclusion in our sector.
The main takeaway from IYMS is the importance of international collaboration and working with organisations to improve our methods and share our own practices from Wales. We can learn so much from one another, and Wicked Wales has already begun a dialogue with partners in Sweden and Nepal on how we can collaborate further. Fortunately, through social media, we can now stay in touch with some of the great film societies we connected with and keep an eye on the ideas and programming that they’re doing. We hadn’t looked further afield until now, so I think this will benefit us when determining our own programme and events.
Attending IYMS was an eye-opening experience that broadened my mind about what we can do in Wales. While the primary basis of the summit is to empower change through filmmaking, it also gives you opportunities to meet like-minded programmers, activists and filmmakers from all across the globe. – Dion Wyn Hughes
Dion attended the International Youth Media Summit with the support of Film Hub Wales via our Bursary scheme. If you want to attend a meeting, course or event that would benefit your organisation and develop audiences but the costs are prohibitive, you can submit an application for support here.
To celebrate ‘Women’s History Month’ the Film Hub Wales team are excited to bring you a selection of Welsh films by, featuring or about Welsh women. Among them are some names you might of heard of and some that are breaking onto the scene. From dramas, to documentaries and sci-fi, the cultural landscape of Wales becomes even more exciting this year thanks to the talents of these Welsh women delivering interesting, new narratives.
This list has been compiled as part of Made in Wales – a Film Hub Wales strategy that supports exhibitors and focuses on highlighting films and filmmakers with Welsh connections. Find out more about how we support filmmakers and distributors.
Sara Sugarman was born in Rhyl, Denbighshire, Wales. She is an actress and director, known for Sid and Nancy (1986), Very Annie Mary (2001), Disney‘s Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004) and Vinyl (2012). In 1994 she won a place at Bournemouth Film School, scripted and directed three short films, nominated for a BAFTA, BAFTA CYMRU and won twenty three International film festivals.
When was the first time you realised you wanted to make films?
I sent away for a super 8 kit from the classified section of my dad’s newspaper when I was 11. It was plastic. I still have the camera and it was so so exciting! I wanted to remake JAWS on Rhyl beach and this was the time I realised I could make my imagination have a place telling stories.
What was the last project you worked on / made?
Just finished shooting SAVE THE CINEMA for Sky cinema.
What are you up to now? What is the next project you’re working on?
I am editing the film now. I feel very lucky in a time of a pandemic to be making a movie.
Producer, writer and former co-director of Gaucho production company. Producer of award winning feature films One Full Moon, Leaving Lenin and The Making of Maps. Multi BAFTA award winner as producer of numerous TV drama series & film. Mentor & producer of short film projects nurturing new directors & writers. Project manager for Off y Grid, a Film Hub Wales initiative. Currently producing short films in a pilot project between Wales and Nepal and developing a TV drama series for young people.
When was the first time you realised you wanted to make films?
As a child, cinema was a regular feature on a Saturday morning & over the years the more films I saw the more I fell in love with the big screen. However I always thought that working in films was an impossible dream for a girl from the sticks. After a brief mindset detour – when I thought I would become a surgeon- I realised that this was definitely not for me. Throughout adolescence, university & the early days of my career film has always fired my imagination & has transported me to other worlds & cultures.
What was the last project you worked on / made?
I wrote & produced a 3 part drama series for S4C, filmed in Wales & Majorca.
What are you up to now? What is the next project you’re working on?
Mentoring a filmmaking course for young people + waiting for venues to open to rekindle Off y Grid activities as a project manager/co-ordinator and producing a 6 part drama series for young people. Also I’m considering potential film projects. I have just accepted an invitation to produce/mentor 3 short films with young filmmakers from Wales as part of the International Youth Media Summit. This is a collaboration between Nepal & Wales. I’m also a producer/mentor on a forthcoming filmmaking course for young people in North Wales.
Useful links:
Claire Fowler is a writer-director from Wales who is based both in the US and UK. Her latest short, Salam, was the first Welsh short film to premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival, and was one of ten shorts selected for the Short Film Award at the BFI London Film Festival. It has since screened at more than one hundred festivals and won over ten awards including the BAFTA Cymru award for best short in 2020.
When was the first time you realised you wanted to make films?
I’ve always been attracted to the idea of filmmaking, and I’ve always loved narrative in the form of reading books, drawing, and watching films. But being from a small village in North Wales it didn’t really occur to me that directing was even an option for me– which sounds ridiculous when you consider that I studied Fine Art at University. I guess my naive teenage brain thought I could be a teacher and an artist, but never a director because only posh people did that- which just goes to show that representation matters. But at University I began to make little experimental films and I became completely absorbed in the process. There was this palpable magnetic pull towards filmmaking, but there was also a huge amount of resistance from me (and my family) in the form of very practical questions such as: How do I even begin to do this? Where will I find the money for each film? How can I make a living? But I had to give in to the gradual realisation that I would not be happy unless I pursued it. To be completely honest, it still feels very far away because I don’t yet make a full-time living from directing. Sometimes I manage to for months at a time, but right now I still need a back-up for the dry periods. What we do not talk about is the fact that most people who succeed in this business have independent wealth. To make even a short film a director has to not only raise the funds for the film itself, but also factor in lost earnings for all of the days spent casting, in prepro, on-set and then in post. If you don’t have all of the resources on hand, you still have to pay rent and bills, eat and travel and maintain other employment. It’s a real juggling act when you’re not wealthy and no one is ever going to give you extra credit for that.
What was the last project you worked on / made?
The last project I worked on as director was actually as a director-for-hire and it was unfortunately not an enjoyable experience. The writers were great, the scripts had a lot of potential and the cast and crew were lovely, but it was low budget, corners were cut, and certain directorial decisions were taken out of my hands by the producers. It only served to weaken the end result and make the process painful. A director’s job is to bring their vision to a project. One person takes on that responsibility because design by committee is disastrous. A director-for-hire has the additional responsibility of pleasing various people– execs, writers, producers. In this situation, there is a process that should be followed to ensure that everyone is happy– for example, casting and other creative decisions (such as hiring key crew) should be made in consultation, there should be in-depth concept and tone meetings for every episode, a post-production schedule, time set aside for a director’s cut. It should be a collaboration, but one that supports the director as the creative helmer of the project. This job did not follow the usual professional process, and it did not respect my role as director. Compromise is always possible when there is respect present in a relationship, but if someone insists on imposing their vision over the director’s, then there is going to be discord on-screen and off.
What are you up to now? What is the next project you’re working on?
I am developing a feature script with BBC Films and Sorcha Bacon of Try Hard productions. It has taken pretty much the whole of the pandemic to get the contract to a place where we are all happy, but I am really excited to be working with Sorcha, and Claudia and Eva of the BBC.
Useful links:
With over 20 years industry experience Alice has worked alongside some of the UK’s leading indies – joining Cardiff based, BFI vision awarded ie ie productions in 2012 as part the team behind the pioneering, award winning multi-platform project ‘American Interior’. In 2015 she launched ie ie’s drama department – building on the company’s international reputation for creating ground-breaking, cross-platform content and expanding their diverse slate of productions. Inspired by creatives working across disciplines, she collaborates with writers and directors to tell stories from under-represented voices and find sustainable ways to realise their vision – whilst making commercially viable film and television for global audiences.
Her award-winning shorts have screened internationally and in 2018/19 she produced Welsh broadcaster S4C’s first short form, bilingual drama series Merched Parchus (Respectable Girls) – which has received multiple award nominations including; RTS Cymru, Bafta Cymru, Celtic Media and Broadcast Digital. The series is being sold internationally by Videoplugger.
She then co-wrote and produced multi-disciplinary artist and filmmaker Tina Pasotra’s debut narrative short I Choose – released on the BBC in September 2020.
Alice is currently in post-production on her first co-production – Andrew Legge’s debut feature L.O.L.A; alongside ie ie’s MD Catryn Ramasut and Cowtown Pictures’ producers John Wallace and Alan Maher. She’s also exec producing a short documentary with emerging filmmaker Siôn Marshall Walters.
Alice was a 2017/18 participant on Birds Eye View Filmonomics – which ‘Advocates and educates the female perspective in film through “Action!” – not words’ – and was mentored by Katherine Biddle of See Saw Films through BFI.NETWORK x BAFTA crew 2018/19. In 2019 she was selected for BFI.network@lff international filmmakers, in 2020 for BFI Insight Producers Scheme and in 2021 for Rotterdam Producers Lab and LIM (Less is More) Development Lab.
When was the first time you realised you wanted to make films?
Hmm, I have no idea to be honest! I grew up in rural mid Wales without a TV though, so I guess I was always intrigued to find out about something I didn’t have any tangible experience of. My sisters and I used to make our own wildlife programmes by drawing on lining paper and feeding it through slits on the sides of a cardboard box! I also remember listening to Neighbours through the fuzzy white noise of an old tv set rigged up in the garden! But I think it was probably when I moved to London as a student that I really started thinking about working in film and tv – although it still felt a million miles away from becoming a reality, until I got a part time job as a runner at a production company when I was in my final year and it all fell into place from there!
What was the last project you worked on / made?
The last thing released was a short film called I Choose directed by Cardiff based multi-disciplinary artist and filmmaker Tina Pasotra; which we made through the Beacons scheme (currently available on BBC iplayer). We’re also currently in post-production on our first narrative feature – L.O.L.A by writer/director Andrew Legge which we’re co-producing with Cowtown Pictures in Ireland.
What are you up to now? What is the next project you’re working on?
Alongside L.O.L.A we have been really busy in development during the pandemic. I’ve also been lucky enough to have been selected for some fantastic labs, so have felt a bit like I’m back at school from my living room! We have a number of tv drama series’, two YA live action features – one of which we’re running industry workshops with LGBTQ+ young people alongside, and an animated family feature in development – all of which I’m really excited about – so fingers crossed one of those will be the next out of the starting blocks!
