Thanks to National Lottery funding, since FHW was set up in 2013, we’ve supported over 410 cinema projects, reaching over 758,692 audience members. Take a look at some of the highlights to date as well as some special ten year video messages from our members:
Previous highlights
- Annual highlights 2025/2026
From Cardiff Animation Festival’s Wales-wide tour of an animated Welsh language classic, to the Magic Lantern bringing home the first BIFA Cinema of the Year award, 2025 has been packed full of big screen activities! You’ve been busy working on affordable and accessible events that brought the best UK independent and international film to local communities. - Annual highlights 2024/2025
From Anora to Flow, 2024 saw Welsh audiences watching the latest UK independent and international films in their local communities, at affordable prices. From relaxed, family friendly films to eco cinema strands and the latest Welsh releases, member sites offered plenty to choose from. We also saw new screens open, from Awen Cultural Trust’s multi-million-pound redevelopment at Maesteg Town Hall to Cellb’s new ‘Sgrin Emyr Ankst’, opened in memory of Welsh music and cinema pioneer Emyr Glyn Williams. - Annual highlights 2023/24
2023/24 has been another busy year, from touring animated shorts, to free family films and even a blood soaked 90s classic in a nightclub. For most or you, the focus has been getting back to the business of programming films and leading local community sessions, where you could get to know your audiences. - Annual highlights 2022/23
2022 brought new challenges, from life post-Covid, to a cost of living crisis but you continued to bring film experiences to communities across Wales. From a new Windrush Festival in Newport, to hyperlocal street based screenings in Riverside, audiences came together to support their local cinemas. - Annual highlights 2021/22
During global uncertainty, you welcomed audiences back to share the communal magic of cinema through engaging screenings and events. You celebrated Welsh culture through home-grown releases, gave lesser-known stories a platform through curated programmes and raised awareness through courses and discussions. - Annual highlights 2020/21
You’ve gone virtual, outdoors and reimagined your business models. You converted your cinemas into foodbanks, offered medical deliveries and been on hand to give your communities emotional support during isolation. You’ve embodied resilience, many of you continuing to develop ways to reach audiences and survive the pandemic. As sites across the UK begin to reopen, we’re looking back at just some of the exciting things we achieved together in 2020/21. - Annual highlights 2019/20
It’s been a challenging end to the year but so much fantastic work has taken place, thanks to your hard work and support. We want to take a moment to look back at just some of the exciting things that happened in 2019/20.
