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BFI FAN Places Fund – Evaluation Brief
  • BFI FAN Places Fund – Evaluation Brief
  • Fee: The total sum for this work, inclusive of VAT and expenses is £20,000
  • Completion: Initial findings June 30th 2025, final draft September 2nd 2025 and fiinal report September 30th 2025
  • Location: Remote – work can be undertaken from across the UK.

Overview:

The BFI FAN Places Fund is a pilot programme running from September 2024 – June 2025, designed to increase public engagement with independent cinema venues, using National Lottery funding to help them become more visible and accessible to their local communities. Film Hub Wales, Film Hub Midlands and Film Hub North have been selected to undertake this innovative marketing-led initiative across the UK.

Each Hub will work with a small number of sites in their respective region, focussing on areas of limited cultural provision and using a range of approaches. The project will aim to build awareness of the community role played by the venues, strengthening their ability to tell stories in effective and engaging ways.

An evaluation framework is required to assess the impact of the BFI FAN Places Fund activity. As a pilot project, we will need to establish a set of benchmarks, that can be monitored collectively across each region for the duration of the work. Systems should be designed and implemented in each area in order to gather qualitative feedback and quantitative data, exploring how successful the pilot has been, along with any recommendations for future delivery.

How to apply:

You are asked to submit a written proposal that includes:

  • Your approach to undertaking the research brief;
  • Details of the individual/s who will work on the project along with their CVs;
  • An outline of previous experience in this area of work and an example of this work;
  • Two references from previous/similar work;
  • A budget for this work specifying a breakdown of days and daily rates. Budgets must be inclusive of VAT and expenses.

Please send this information by email to hello@filmhubwales.org

Closing deadline for proposals: 5pm, 23rd September

  • Short listing will be based on how well applicants meet the essential criteria listed in the position description. Please address each point in your proposal.
  • We will contact short-listed candidates to schedule interviews (date TBC). We will not be able to meet with individual candidates prior to interview.

Read the brief:

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BFI announces ART OF ACTION, a major UK-wide season celebrating the artistry of real action choreography
29th July 2024

The season will be presented by the BFI Film Audience Network at venues UK-wide from October-December 2024, with highlights including:

  • BFI Distribution re-release of Kathryn Bigelow’s POINT BREAK (1991), in cinemas UK-wide on 8 November
  • UK-wide screenings and events presented in partnership with the BFI Film Audience Network, including the ninth edition of the Fighting Spirit Film Festival, a celebration of women of colour working in action cinema and screenings dedicated to the ‘original Hollywood action hero’ Buster Keaton
  • Major season at BFI Southbank and BFI IMAX featuring focuses on John Woo and Bollywood action
  • BFI 4K UHD release of SEVEN SAMURAI on 21 October, with screenings at selected cinemas from 27 September, including a premiere event at BFI IMAX on 26 September
  • A collection of films to stream on demand on BFI Player

The BFI today announces a new season celebrating the artistry of real action choreography, that has kept film audiences on the edge of their seats since the early days of cinema. Presented by the BFI Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) using funds from the National Lottery, ART OF ACTION will take place at cinemas across the UK from October-December 2024, with the chance to get behind-the-scenes insights from those working in the action and stunt communities, via special events, demonstrations, talks and screenings throughout the season. ART OF ACTION will spotlight the genre through the ages, with films ranging from cult classics to lesser-known gems from around the world. It will illuminate the work of female stunt performers and their struggle for recognition, and champion the new wave of action stars and filmmakers who are building upon the legacy of those who have fallen, crashed, smashed and picked themselves up before them.

From the jaw-dropping stunts of the silent era to the intricate dynamic choreography of today’s biggest action films, via the daredevil ethos of Hong Kong filmmaking, ART OF ACTION will feature screenings of THE GENERAL (1926), THE TRAIN (1964), THE WILD BUNCH (1969), the POLICE STORY TRILOGY (1985-1992), RUN LOLA RUN (1998), CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000), POLITE SOCIETY (2023) and many more. The centrepiece of ART OF ACTION will be a BFI re-release of Kathryn Bigelow’s POINT BREAK (1991) starring Keanu Reeves as FBI agent Johnny Utah, who goes undercover with a gang of surfers, led by Patrick Swayze’s Bodhi, who are suspects in a series of bank robberies. Bigelow’s kinetic masterpiece, which has rarely been seen on big screens in the UK in recent years, will be released in selected cinemas UK-wide by BFI Distribution on 8 November, with the film also available on BFI Player on the same date.

Timon Singh, BFI FAN Producer and programmer of ART OF ACTION, said:

After the triumph of EVERYTHING EVERYWHERE ALL AT ONCE and the continued success of franchises like JOHN WICK and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, it’s clear that the thrill of watching ‘real action’ done by stunt performers, as well as stars like Michelle Yeoh and Tom Cruise, still captivates audiences. This season looks at the cinematic artistry, skills and craft involved in creating iconic action sequences and films, as well as engage with the historic roots and cross-cultural influences of the genre. We’ll celebrate the skill and daring of actors and stunt performers and their extraordinary on-screen exploits and provide opportunities to get behind-the-scenes insights into the daring world of action design which will thrill and entertain, and hopefully inspire the next generation of creatives.

Jason Wood, BFI Director of Public Programme & Audiences, said:

Art of Action will be a high-octane crowd pleaser at a moment when we truly need to be supporting cinemas, which provide such vital culture and entertainment to communities across the UK. The BFI Film Audience Network plays a really important role in getting diverse films to audiences and this has been an inspirational and creative collaboration with our colleagues at Watershed, Bristol taking the lead. It’s a greatblueprint for how the BFI can work with partners UK-wide on major projects. Art of Action’s broad historical and international scope presents the films we love alongside brand-new discoveries from silent gems to combat charged women, martial arts to major blockbusters plus a long-awaited re-release of Kathryn Bigelow’s seminal Point Break. Buckle up and enjoy the ride!

The season will be programmed around three key themes, with the first dedicated to spotlighting action through the ages – from the early visual gags of silent gems like THE GENERAL (1926) to influential classics such as THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938) and THE TRAIN (1964), through to the intricate and dynamic wuxia choreography of CROUCHING TIGER, HIDDEN DRAGON (2000). ART OF ACTION will also bust the myth that action is just by and for men; celebrating the plethora of female talent in front of and behind the camera, as well as shedding a light on under-represented voices in the action community, from YES MADAM (1985) to POLITE SOCIETY (2023) via RUN LOLA RUN (1998). Finally, the season will explore how action films became a global phenomenon as both Eastern and Western filmmakers were inspired by each other, and the impact of such cross-cultural influences on cinema today – from SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) and THE WILD BUNCH (1969) to the POLICE STORY TRILOGY (1985-1992).

More than 50 venues UK-wide will host events and screenings supported by the BFI Film Audience Network, with some of the highlights set to include:

  • Broadway Cinema’s action mini season designed for Under-25s and marginalised audiences, which will include a day of Robin Hood screenings to mark Nottingham’s Robin Hood Marathon.
  • Call to Action, a programme curated by Reclaim the Frame that centres women of colour working in front of and behind the camera in the action genre, from the 90s to the present day. Comprising special events with guests including stunt performer Ayesha Hussian, panel conversations, demos and screenings, Call to Action will tour venues including Hackney Picturehouse, Dukes at Komedia, Picturehouse (Brighton), Glasgow Film Theatre and Midlands Art Centre (Birmingham).
  • Cromarty Kicks Ass, a tightly packed season of films run by Cromarty Community Cinema in the Highlands, Scotland, will address themes of justice, revenge, honour and the global desire to have the cinema shake with action, alongside parkour and capoeira demonstrations and workshops, and a free outdoor screening of a Jackie Chan classic accompanied by a live musician and torchlight lion dance.
  • Exeter Phoenix: Smash The Glass, which will celebrate the women who have advanced action cinema both on and off-screen, delivered in partnership with Girls on Film critic and broadcaster Anna Smith, with collaborations from Plymouth Art Cinema.
  • Fabrica in Brighton will deliver Creative Action, a weekend-long festival empowering young people aged 16-25, women and people of marginalized genders by repositioning the cultural significance of action films for audiences. The festival will engage these groups through partnerships with women, non-binary and queer-friendly martial arts clubs, a programme of shorts from local and international animators and a collaboration with their young film programmers’ group, Fresh Perspectives.
  • The ninth edition of Fighting Spirit Film Festival, with martial arts shorts and features presented alongside martial arts and weapons demonstrations, a martial arts workshop and seminars on choreographing a short action sequence.
  • Hyde Park Picture House Leeds’s programme exploring the history of car races and chases in global cinema, featuring talks and Q&As with academics, car enthusiasts and stuntwomen, plus a day-long educational session as part of Hyde Park Picture House’s Film School strand.
  • The Magic Lantern screening POINT BREAK alongside the local surf community in Tywyn with entertainment including a live band and a party; THE GENERAL with live musical accompaniment and trips on the Talyllyn steam railway; martial arts demos, a free sword fighting workshop and Welsh filmmaker Garth Evans’ RAID II.
  • MilkTea’s ESEA In Action, at Brixton Ritzy in London and City Screen in York, which will showcase a program of East and Southeast Asian (ESEA) cinema with their programme theme, Black x Asian cultural crossover, in partnership with Dark Matter.
  • Mitchell Arts Centre’s celebration of the ‘original Hollywood action hero’, Buster Keaton, with enhanced screenings featuring live musical accompaniment from musician Meg Morley and an introduction from local film historian Ray Johnson.
  • Queen’s Film Theatre Belfast’s programme spanning the breadth of the genre with special events including a celebration of women in action with film journalist Helen O’Hara, a stage combat demonstration by fight director Philip Rafferty, and an action all-nighter curated by QFT’s LUMI programmers.

The full UK-wide line-up of screenings, events and touring programmes will be announced soon.

BFI Southbank will play host to a major season from 21 October – 30 November, concentrating on several themes alongside stunts; the women of action, the master John Woo and the influence of Bollywood, as well as serving a plotted guide through the history of action cinema with a special all action-themed edition of Big Screen Classics, where BFI Southbank shows classic films on a daily basis for just £9. Special events confirmed for the season so far include Stunt Saturday on 16 November, a special day of talks, panel events, screenings and workshops all celebrating the art of stunts. BFI Southbank will welcome Nida Manzoor for a Q&A on 17 November, following a screening of her hilarious and exhilarating action/comedy POLITE SOCIETY (2023), which follows 16-year-old Ria, an aspiring stuntwoman, who is alarmed when her sister Lena is swept up by a charming suitor and starts heading towards marriage at speed. Also on 17 November, The Art of the Action Trailer will present some of the best and worst action trailers through time, pondering the iconic trailer voiceover and decide whether it’s better to reveal or conceal the big stunts.

BFI IMAX, the UK’s largest screen, is one of the best places to watch an action blockbuster with its immersive, unmatched scale. The cinema will host a number of events during the season, including all-nighters dedicated to JOHN WICK and MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE, and the premiere of a new 4K restoration of Akira Kurosawa’s SEVEN SAMURAI (1954) on 26 September. SEVEN SAMURAI will also be released by the BFI on 4K UHD on 21 October, with the new restoration playing in further selected cinemas as part of the season. More information about the 4K UHD release will be revealed soon.

Audiences will also be able to stream films from the season at home on BFI Player, with a selection of titles set to include FIST OF FURY (1972), THE STREET FIGHTER (1974), ARMOUR OF GOD (1986), HEROES SHED NO TEARS (1986), POINT BREAK (1991), RUN LOLA RUN (1998), LEONOR WILL NEVER DIE (2022) and many more to be announced soon.

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Download the Press Release

 

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What’s on in Welsh Cinemas: Affordable Films for Communities across Wales
23rd July 2024

Film Hub Wales (FHW) has awarded over £100,000 of BFI National Lottery funding to nineteen independent Welsh cinemas and film festivals, through its Film Exhibition Fund. 

Funds will enable Welsh audiences to watch 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, there’s plenty to choose from.  

Audiences in Bridgend and Blaenau Ffestiniog will even get to watch the films in exciting new cinema spaces. Awen Cultural Trust is launching its Llynfi Valley Cinema Project alongside at Maesteg Town Hall following its multi-million-pound redevelopment. At Cellb, their new ‘Sgrin Emyr Ankst’, opens in memory of Welsh music and cinema pioneer Emyr Glyn Williams – his legacy is set to inspire the young people of Wales for many years to come.  

Rhys Roberts from Cellb explains the importance of their new screen to the community: 

Cellb is located in the center of the town of Blaenau Ffestiniog, a high mountainous location under the Stiniog quarries with its rich past history in industry, heritage and culture. It was the location for the first ever Welsh language film, Y Chwarelwr, an important film that reflects the lives of the local quarrymen in its community. Its past historic Culture and Welsh language was a vital part of the social and cultural dynamics.

Today, we feel that it’s important to celebrate and to educate our young people about modern heroes such as Emyr and it is with this in mind that we wish to dedicate our Screen 1 to his name. Our youths need role models, whom have flourished in the arts and culture and Emyr is a fine example of a local boy who dreamt big and made a huge impact on Welsh Culture. This is for you Emyr, you have inspired us and we will shine your beacon on to the masses for years to come. Diolch Emyr, Caru chdi.

At the Torch Theatre in Milford Haven, they’re building relationships with their audiences and local partners, exploring global themes of intersectional identity through their film programme. They’re opening up the space to new communities by celebrating important awareness dates such as Black History Month, LGBTQIA+ History Month and the International Day of Persons with Disabilities.  

Chelsey Gillard, The Torch’s Artistic Director explains:

We are thrilled to work with Film Hub Wales to deliver a series of celebratory cinema seasons across six months. This funding will allow us to build relationships with our communities and discover what people want to see at their local cinema, informing our long-term sustainability. By working with partners across Wales that bring a wealth of lived experiences, we will be able to screen a wider variety of films and facilitate post-screening events that we hope will support discussion, reflection and connection.

Other highlights include youth-led activities at Taliesin Arts Centre in Swansea and Theatr Gwaun in Fishguard, works screened from neurodivergent filmmakers at both Hijinx Unity Festival and through Cardiff Animation Festival’s Different Voices strand, as well as a nature/ecology in horror strand at Abertoir International Horror Festival – think disgusting real-life parasites and ‘nature fights back’. 

Hana Lewis, Strategic Manager of Film Hub Wales adds:

The fund is designed to help cinemas, festivals and community screens to bring the best UK independent and international films to Welsh audiences, in accessible and affordable ways. There’s so much to look forward to this year, which communities simply can’t get from watching a film at home. By heading out to their local cinema space, they’re already part of something bigger within their community and with a host of activities on offer, audiences get a night out for the price of their ticket.

The projects are supported by Film Hub Wales, which is part of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) using funds from the National Lottery to ensure the greatest choice of cinema is available to everyone across the UK. Funds in Wales are administered by FHW via Chapter as the Film Hub Lead Organisation. 

More than £30M is raised each week for good causes across the UK by the National Lottery.  

Ends.

Download the Press Release

 

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Paul (Sol Cinema) attends Sheffield DocFest 202

Paul (Sol Cinema) attends Sheffield DocFest 2024 and tells us about his experience after 10 years away from the festival.

 

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 (www.sheffdocfest.com). Paul of Sol Cinema was hoping to meet filmmakers and event organisers who may be interested in using the Sol Cinema in their events, whilst also attending workshops and films that will allow him to find ways to promote his mobile cinema.  Here’s what Paul told us about his festival experience:

“Docfest brought together filmmakers from across the world which I enjoyed sharing experiences, and ways of working. I was inspired by hearing about different ways of doing things. I was exposed to new technology which I will hopefully involve in my own work. Podcasts workshops and premieres really interested myself and many other attendees so this could be a new avenue for my productions. The answer from all the funding panels stated that funding is virtually non existent for films, so there is a real need to think completely differently.”


I met potential new bookings for my mobile cinema, learned more about the state of the industry, got inspired, saw new ways of making documentaries.

 

“I have been sent new films from people I met [at the networking events after] showing my mobile cinema. 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. I shall explore about including that in future events.”

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.

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BFI FAN CON – Connecting the BFI Film Audience Network

The first BFI Film Audience Network Conference will take place in Belfast at Queen’s Film Theatre (QFT) and Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) from Wednesday 11th – Friday 13th September 2024.

This conference is for all BFI FAN members. Cinemas and film exhibitors from across the UK will gather to strengthen their professional networks, learn about some of the most exciting FAN projects, and draw inspiration on new ways to reach and engage audiences in a diverse screen culture

The exhibition sector has faced extraordinary challenges in recent years and this biannual event will serve as a space to reflect on and celebrate the vital role we play in our communities. The conference will explore practical examples of grassroots approaches to audience development and engagement, informed by member experiences and interests, and – in response to the most pressing systemic and structural issues facing our sector – will also use the event as a forum for discussion and a springboard for collective advocacy and change. 

The conference will open with a preview screening on Wednesday, 11th September and be followed by two days of sessions and workshops across Thursday and Friday. On Thursday evening, there will be a conference dinner in the Great Hall of QUB, and on Friday evening, there will be the opportunity to join a specially curated cinematic tour of Belfast.

Read more about the confernce and book tickets.


Bursary support and Membership

  • This event is eligible for bursary support. FHW can cover travel/accommodation costs for members to attend. Find out more.
  • If you’re not a Film Hub Wales member, you can join here.
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Spotlight programme announced by BFI FAN

The programme will see investment in eight local areas across the UK to boost audience choice and improve access to screenings of independent film.

Announced today as part of the latest iteration of BFI Film Audience Network (FAN), SPOTLIGHT sees additional BFI National Lottery investment in eight local areas across the UK to boost audience choice and improve access to screenings of independent film. In addition, each FAN Hub now also has funding available – totalling over £750,000 – to support a wide range of exhibition activity across the UK, and Network is also rolling out significant skills programmes to upskill exhibition professionals. This comes as an external evaluation of BFI FAN is published, highlighting its success in reaching new audiences and broadening access to screen culture.

For BFI FAN 2023 to 2026, the BFI ringfenced £1.85 million National Lottery funding for SPOTLIGHT. It takes a hyper-local approach to developing screenings in eight areas, each identified as having little or no screening provision by their local Film Hubs. The projects will be delivered over three years, in many cases operating in partnership with locally based film organisations, with an end goal of establishing audiences and screening activities that can be sustained and continue once this targeted support ends.

The SPOTLIGHT areas and the partners set to receive support are:

  • Film Hub London: Barking & Dagenham and Newham
  • Film Hub Midlands: Stoke on Trent and Stafford, in partnership with Flatpack Festival
  • Film Hub Northern Ireland: Newry & Mourne, in partnership with Newcastle Community Cinema
  • Film Hub North: Sunderland, in partnership with Sunderland Shorts Film Festival
  • Film Hub Scotland: Moray Firth area, in partnership with Eden Court, Inverness
  • Film Hub South East: Peterborough, in partnership with the Gateway Film Festival
  • Film Hub South West: Swindon, in partnership with Create Studios
  • Film Hub Wales: Rural Conwy, in partnership with TAPE, Community Music & Film

Ben Luxford, BFI’s Director of UK Audiences says:

The aim of BFI FAN has always been to open up access and opportunity for everyone across the UK to be able to discover and watch a rich variety of UK and international indie film. Given the ongoing challenges the exhibition sector is facing, the value of FAN, particularly the financial support and training it offers, is more vital than ever. The latest FAN evaluation outlines where it has had a positive impact and helped us set the roadmap for this latest iteration – it tells us that having a connected national network which has a localised approach is key to its success. In introducing SPOTLIGHT we want to encourage ultra-local audience development, focussing on a specific area that is underserved and enable the Hubs to take action to improve the offer and engage the local community. As well as benefit to those audiences, we also hope the whole of FAN will gather learnings to make longer-term impact.

Also rolling out in 2024 are a series of BFI FAN skills and development initiatives intended to provide Hub members with access to vital training and learning opportunities. These include REACH: Strategic Audience Development training which has been created by the ICO and run for four previous editions. This intensive course will give its participants an opportunity to build their expertise in growing and developing audiences and is soon to be followed by a new course – Revisiting Your Cinema Business Model – intended to address the pressing need for greater financial and commercial knowledge within cinemas across the UK.

A regular programme of online webinars is also being offered to FAN members across the UK covering a range of topics including environmental sustainability, access, working with young audiences and screen heritage. Later this year will also see the launch of a new BFI FAN Conference, bringing member organisations together to share best practice in reaching audiences with innovative film programmes and develop a more connected community of peers within the Network.

These initiatives come as BFI FAN published an evaluation of its activity between 2018 and 2022 undertaken by Indigo Ltd. The report highlights the success of the decentralised funding model that saw an £8 million investment support over 2,428 projects that added an estimated value of at least £21.2 million to the economy. FAN exceeded its ambitious audience targets, with supported activity achieving almost 2.3 million admissions from 1,514 audience facing projects.

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A Tribute to Emyr Glyn Williams

We are devastated by the loss of our friend and colleague, Emyr.

We were fortunate to have worked with him over the last ten years, since the start of his journey at Pontio. He called us in excitement to chat about programming the cinema, before the building had even opened. He was a constant collaborator from that point onwards, someone who supported us, as much as we hopefully did him. He inspired the idea of the ‘Off y Grid’ project because he felt the loneliness of running a venue at times and wanted to create partnerships with neighbouring cinemas.

He was the kind of person that would meet you with open arms and hug you like he meant it. You could talk to him for hours (and we did sometimes) about films or creative ideas. He was someone that we could approach for any project idea and know he’d come up with something spot on. A brilliant champion of Welsh language and culture and font of knowledge when it came to Welsh film.

We only shared a small part of Emyr’s life and are grateful for that. We send our love and deepest condolences to his family, friends and his colleagues at Pontio and beyond.

Emyr often found himself quoted all over our site because he had a beautiful way with words. You’ll find him as a permanent fixture on our home page, where he summed it up in six words: ‘cinema belongs to all of us.’ We’ll miss you Emyr. We know you’ll already have the lights down low and a projector running up there.

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Welsh Cinemas Celebrate Film Hub Wales’ 10th Anniversary

It’s our tenth Birthday! We’re looking back to this time in 2013, when we launched a significant new programme in partnership with Welsh cinemas, film festivals and community screens, designed to build audiences for British independent and international film across Wales.

This has all been made possible thanks our partners in exhibition and across BFI FAN, with funding from The National Lottery via the BFI. Join us for a look back at just a fraction of what we’ve achieved together over the last decade.

Watch video messages from our members below, along with a special ten year video edit, plus our press release, ten year highlights and social stories:

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The Eternal Daughter: The Whole Story

The Eternal Daughter comes to cinemas across Wales and the UK in November 2023.

We’ve created a Made in Wales Support Pack for this film, featuring an exclusive video introduction from Welsh actor Carly-Sophia Davies, editorial in partnership with Buzz Magazine, social cards, programming recommendations and social assets, all of which you can share with your audiences to promote the film’s Welsh connections.

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Welsh Film Preview Events

Our Preview Days include screenings of upcoming Welsh-made, Welsh-language and Welsh archive film releases designed to support the wider programming and reach of  films with Welsh connections.

The events are exclusively for members of Film Hub Wales and members of Film Hubs around the UK and we supply all attendees with film information packs and offer networking at different member venues across the country. Film Hub Wales can also offer funding towards minimum guarantees, marketing and/or a contribution towards event costs where talent is available.

Further events will be scheduled according to the availability of upcoming film titles and details will be listed below.

No upcoming events.

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TAPE Cinema
New Three-Year Community Cinema Project to Launch across North Wales
19th July 2024

TAPE Community Music and Film are launching a new cinema project for communities across North Wales, with support from Film Hub Wales.

Specialising in creative inclusion, TAPE have ‘co-created’ the project in collaboration with their Media Club – a safe and supportive space which offers hands on experiences to a cohort of people from across the local community.

‘Neighbourhood Watch’, named by Josh one of the Media Club members, will launch with a screening of locally filmed, BAFTA nominated, comedy Brian and Charles at Llanrwst Family Centre on Friday 22nd September. There will be special guests and some surprises for the audience!

Year 2 Update:

TAPE will lead on the activity directly within the community. and will drive the work through co-creation, in collaboration with TAPE’s ‘Media Club project’. This cohort of people, from across the community, have experience in the delivery of their in-house screening programmes, bespoke festivals and outreach work. This new project will offer progression routes for skills development, as well as widening social, vocational and community links.

Alongside this, TAPE will add value to screening days through the development and production of their next feature film project, Below the Waves. Aligning the outreach work for the film with each of the screenings will increase engagement and involvement and widen the offer for audiences in the local area through workshops / opportunities. This work will be covered by match funding from the Arts Council of Wales.

Josh is looking forward to the first event:

“I like the idea of bringing the community together through film. I feel proud to be part of this.”

Steve Swindon, Creative Director of TAPE explains how the Media Club works and why the project is needed:

“We can bring people together through Media Club and work as a team to develop exciting projects which link to a whole range of creative opportunities. Neighbourhood Watch is a hugely exciting project for several reasons. It builds on the film programming work the group has done and the wide range of screenings and events they’ve hosted. It also moves this work into communities across North Wales and connects people in new ways through the workshops running alongside. We can’t wait to get started.”

Neighbourhood Watch will bring monthly screenings of UK independent and international film to up to five communities from 2023-26, with potential areas for expansion including Anglesey and Llanfairfechan. The communities involved will have opportunities to develop skills such as booking films and marketing events, whilst also making friends and growing their professional networks. Each screening will have a workshop, guest or masterclass, plus the chance to participate in the development of TAPE’s next feature film project, Below the Waves, which is funded by the Arts Council of Wales.

Hana Lewis, Strategic Manager of Film Hub Wales adds:  

There’s so much innovation taking place across North Wales but we know that communities aren’t always able to access events, whether this is due to the cost of living crisis, poor transport links or lack of local services. Neighbourhood Watch is driven by the community itself, creating an appetite for film on their own doorsteps. TAPE’s Media Club are bursting with creative ideas to make the project work for their community in an inclusive way – which is really important to us. We hope that their work will encourage wider cinema going, supporting nearby cinemas and festivals in the long-term.”

BFI FAN is a nationwide programme made possible thanks to National Lottery funding that seeks to ensure the greatest choice of cinema is available to everyone across the UK. In Wales, funds are administered by Film Hub Wales via Chapter. The Neighbourhood Watch project is designed to meet objectives in the BFI’s recently launched 10-year strategy, Screen Culture 2033.

More than £30M is raised each week for good causes across the UK by the National Lottery.

Download the Full Press Release.

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THE RED SHOES SHOES (1948) Moira Shearer (Restoration Credit UCLA Film & Television Archive In Association With The BFI, The Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Park Circus)
BFI Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger comes to big screens UK-wide this Autumn
15th September 2023

Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger, a major BFI UK-wide film celebration of one of the greatest and most enduring filmmaking partnerships in the history of cinema: Michael Powell (1905-1990) and Emeric Pressburger (1902-1988), best known for their iconic films including THE RED SHOES (1948), A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) and BLACK NARCISSUS (1947), comes to big screens nationwide this autumn. CINEMA UNBOUND: THE CREATIVE WORLDS OF POWELL AND PRESSBURGER today announces a UK-wide programme, funded by National Lottery, with over 56 special events and screenings, in the first round, supported in partnership by BFI Film Audience Network (BFI FAN).

From Martin Scorsese to Matthew Bourne, Kate Bush to Margaret Atwood, Tilda Swinton and Greta Gerwig, Powell and Pressburger have influenced creatives for decades, their bold, subversive and iconoclastic cinema continuing to resonate across the worlds of art, design, theatre, dance and music. This is the largest and most wide-ranging exploration ever undertaken about the work of the legendary writer-producer-director team. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s incredibly fruitful artistic collaboration at their production company, The Archers, spanned 24 films together made between 1939 and 1972.

Peeping Tom image courtesy of Park Circus / Studiocanal
Peeping Tom image courtesy of Park Circus / Studiocanal

The UK-wide celebration kicks off this autumn on the big screen with the BFI Distribution re-release of I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (1945), back in UK-wide cinemas from 20 October. I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! was recently restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV and Park Circus, with funding for the restoration provided by the Hobson/Lucas Family Foundation with additional support provided by Matt Spick. BFI Distribution is also re-releasing the iconic dance film THE RED SHOES (1948), in honour of its 75th anniversary from 8 December. THE RED SHOES was previously restored by the UCLA Film & Television Archive in association with the BFI, The Film Foundation, ITV Global Entertainment Ltd., and Janus Films. Restoration funding for the film was provided by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, The Film Foundation, and the Louis B. Mayer Foundation. Both restorations have been licensed from Park Circus/ITV. A new restoration of PEEPING TOM (1960) restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Studiocanal will be released in UK cinemas by Studiocanal on 27 October.

Studiocanal will also be unveiling a new 4K restoration of THE SMALL BACK ROOM (1949) as part of CINEMA UNBOUND. Restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with Studiocanal, THE SMALL BACK ROOM will be available via Studiocanal as well as a first ever DCP print for OH…ROSALINDA!! (1955). BFI FAN partners nationwide will also be able to book classic Powell and Pressburger’s titles, A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946), BLACK NARCISSUS (1947), and double bills of THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (1937) + RETURN TO THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (1978) as well as the recent restoration of Michael Powell’s BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (1964) + THE SORCERER’S APPRENTICE (1955). BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (1964) has been restored by the BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with The Ashbrittle Film Foundation, with funding provided by the BFI National Archive, The Louis B. Mayer Foundation and The Film Foundation. The sublime new restoration of BLUEBEARD’S CASTLE (1964) will also be released by the BFI in a Dual format edition (DVD & Blu-ray) in November.4

Following the huge success of the inaugural BFI Film on Film Festival in June, the season will offer UK-wide audiences a chance to experience the magic of seeing films projected on film, with 35mm print screenings of BLACK NARCISSUS (1947), THE RED SHOES (1948), THE LIFE AND DEATH OF COLONEL BLIMP (1943) and THE TALES OF HOFFMANN (1951), with new prints made with funding from the National Lottery and the additional support of donors to the BFI’s Keep Film on Film campaign.

I know where I'm going (1945), Roger Livesey, Wendy Hiller (Restoration credit BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV_Park Circus)
I know where I’m going (1945), Roger Livesey, Wendy Hiller (Restoration credit – BFI National Archive and The Film Foundation in association with ITV / Park Circus)

Programme highlights up and down the UK and Northern Ireland include aroma-focused immersive screenings of BLACK NARCISSUS (1947) in Chester, Brighton and Glasgow, a series of screenings in Orkney, Mull, the Isle of Tiree and Oban, celebrating Powell and Pressburger’s Island films including I KNOW WHERE I’M GOING! (1945) and THE EDGE OF THE WORLD (1937). Special screenings planned at Much Wenlock, Shropshire, the location for GONE TO EARTH (1949) and Leonardslee Lakes and Gardens, West Sussex one of the key filming locations for BLACK NARCISSUS (1947). Other event highlights include an immersive screening of THE RED SHOES (1948) at Exeter Cathedral and A MATTER OF LIFE AND DEATH (1946) at Nympsfield Airfield Aerodrome, Gloucestershire. Plus, Powell and Pressburger film seasons at cinemas across the country from Cardiff, Derry, Belfast, Glasgow, Nottingham and Sheffield, to Dundee, Folkestone, Cambridge and Manchester.

Powell and Pressburger’s masterpieces were so numerous that in 2022 six of their films appeared in the Sight and Sound Greatest Films of All Time Poll (a feat only matched by Hitchcock). True cinematic visionaries, Powell and Pressburger worked with an exceptionally talented creative team of long-term collaborators as The Archers. This included Alfred Junge (production designer), Hein Heckroth (production designer and costume designer), Jack Cardiff (cinematographer), Ivor Beddoes (sketch artist), Arthur Lawson (art director) and Brian Easdale (composer) as well as actors including Roger Livesey, Anton Walbrook, Moira Shearer, Deborah Kerr, Kathleen Byron and Sabu. Together they created some of the richest and most memorable films in the story of cinema, the impact of which continues to be felt today.

Members of Film Hub Wales can still apply for funding to present events and screenings that celebrate the work of Powell & Pressburger and their influence. Read our funding guidelines and submit an application.

ENDS.

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