2026/27 Film Exhibition Fund
We have awarded National Lottery funding to 12 projects from independent cinemas to film festivals across Wales through our 2026/27 Film Exhibition Fund.
Projects will bring the latest UK independent and international films to Welsh communities. From CellB’s 10th anniversary to Neuadd Dwyfor’s 125th, venues across Wales are open and bringing a variety of special film events to audiences. Look out for contemporary Welsh cinema, a solstice sea swim festival and even a youth-climate lab.
Discover more about each project below.
Film Exhibition Fund:
Project: Abergavenny Film Society 2026-2027 Season
Organisation: Abergavenny Film Society
The longest continuously running Film Society in Wales – Abergavenny Film Society is a community cinema run by volunteers, for members and non-members, providing 2 screenings fortnightly September 2026 to March 2027. The Society screens UK independent films and international films with subtitles, as well as a commitment to shorts.
Project: Abertoir – Year Long Activity
Organisation: Abertoir Horror Festival
After celebrating 20 years of hosting a large-scale event every November, for this year only, the festival will concentrate on bringing its dedication and passion to a year-long strand of activity encompassing many of the aspects that has made it so well-known and loved over the past two decades. From silent film with live accompaniment, to an off-site event, previews and collaborations such as with young audience members of Aberystwyth University’s Horror Society.
Project: Ffilmiau Pawb - Sinema Cellb 10
Organisation: Cellb
Ffilmiau Pawb -Sinema Cellb 10 is an enhanced, year-long cinema programme to celebrate Cellb’s 10th anniversary, expanding their inclusive film offerings, in particular for their regular audiences – teens, pensioners, families and world films, with one screening per month for each group. This project builds upon the success of their ongoing “Ffilmiau i Bawb” pilot by increasing the scale and scope of activities leading up to their 10-year anniversary in May 2027.
Project: Wild about Film
Organisation: Awel Aman Tawe / Hwb y Gors
A new, low carbon community venue in the Amman Valley which aims to build a welcoming grassroots film culture that inspires positive environmental action and community connections. Their programme, Wild About Film, is a year-long monthly screening programme of environmental films with curated discussions. They are exploring a series of films directed at a youth audience – 12 years + as well as ad hoc films including the National Emergency Briefing. Through a new volunteer programming committee they will support hands on engagement in the community, while also encouraging audiences to take action against the climate crisis.
Project: Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival 2026
Organisation: Kotatsu Japanese Animation Festival
Reaching its 15th anniversary in 2026, they screen Japanese animated feature films over 5 days at Welsh venues including Chapter and Aberystwyth Arts Centre, plus an exchange screening with the University of South Wales and Tokyo Zokei University.
Events include Jero 11, a UK-based guitarist and shamisen player, who will perform a fusion of heavy metal mixed with traditional Japanese instruments and Japanese folklore-themed films such as ‘Dojoji’. They also offer relaxed spaces for young families through a partnership with ToyBox Project, who provide toys and games for a free family activity corner, as well as a marketplace, Manga Café and raffle.
Project: 130 Years of Welsh Film (into 125 years of Neuadd Dwyfor)
Organisation: Neaudd Dwyfor
To celebrate 130 years of cinema in Wales, and to lead into Neuadd Dwyfor’s 125th anniversary as a working cinema, this project will present an eleven-month programme celebrating Welsh film heritage and contemporary Welsh filmmaking. Alongside curated screenings, the programme will be supported by talks, panel discussions, guest speakers and Q&A events, creating opportunities for audiences in a rural area to engage more deeply with Welsh stories on screen.
The programme will include contemporary Welsh cinema, cult classics, acclaimed Welsh language films and key works from Wales’s screen heritage, offering audiences a broad and representative picture of Welsh filmmaking past and present. Through these films, the project will celebrate Welsh lives, culture and identity as represented on screen, recognising cinema’s role in reflecting and shaping national and community stories.
Project: FLY! Into this entangled world
Organisation: Sheba Soul Ensemble CIC
Sheba Soul’s programme of four films—Polluters and Plunderers, Women Hold Up the Sky, A Whisper in the Woods, and A Path to Climate Justice will travel to three venues across Wales. Creating an engaging and accessible exploration of environmental responsibility, social justice, and collective action. By combining investigative storytelling, lived experiences, and reflective engagement with nature, the programme invites audiences to better understand both the roots of environmental crises and the possibilities for meaningful change.
To deepen engagement, the programme will include participatory activities such as A ‘Story Circle for the Earth’ where participants can share personal experiences, memories, or hopes related to nature and environmental change. A Youth Climate Lab will encourage young people to collaboratively design simple community actions such as neighbourhood greening or waste-reduction ideas. Interactive community mapping sessions will allow participants to collectively identify local environmental concerns and opportunities for action.
Project: Developing Our Core Offer
Organisation: Theatr Gwaun
In 2026-27 Theatr Gwaun continue to offer an ambitious and compelling programming to deliver a programme of year-round slate of British independent and International film (alongside mainstream titles). Woven into the weekly/monthly planning will be two strands of activity to engage and develop younger audiences (POINT Presents and Kids Club), further develop daytime audiences via Monday Morning screenings and sustain accessible screenings via Welcome Wednesday (subtitled and/or relaxed) evening screenings.
Project: Community Film Programme
Organisation: Volcano Theatre
Volcano Theatre in Swansea will develop a new independent community cinema offer, including a Chinese film club in partnership with Chinese in Wales Association, as well as partnerships with Swansea Disability Forum and Swansea City of Sanctuary. By removing barriers to access and engaging with young film enthusiasts, as well as implements training opportunities with the local University student film club, they aim to reach a larger and more diverse audience.
Project: Screen Social & Independent Programme development
Organisation: The Welfare
The Welfare are exploring three film strands through this project – their general film programme, Screen Social and Cinemore.
The general cinema programme focuses on British (including Welsh) titles and independent US titles that appeal to over 40s, alongside holiday screenings of family films. The Screen Social programme offers high quality independent, British (including Welsh), classic, documentary and international titles, whilst also breaking down barriers to attendance for audiences that find it more different to attend due to social, health, financial or other barriers. Cinemore films are documentaries, international or issue-based films connected to visibility events and often have added extras such as speakers, environmental events or socials attached.
Project: British, Indie and World Cinema 26/27
Organisation: Wyeside Arts Centre
Wyeside Arts Centre in Builth Wells will offer a diverse film programme, bringing British, independent and world cinema to their audience, including inclusive and accessible screenings. Their programme considers the local community, offering weekly subtitled screenings, monthly relaxed screenings (for those with autism and learning/sensory needs) and ‘tea & biscuit matinees’ allowing audiences to socialise, with a specific focus on older and socially isolated audiences.
Pitch Pot:
Project: Solstice Sea Swim Sinema Festival
Organisation: Llangoed Village Hall Community Cinema
Llangoed Village Hall Community Cinema are holding a Solstice Sea Swim Sinema Festival from 19-21 June 2026, exploring the transformative power of both film and swimming for mental health. Based on the coast of Yns Mon (Anglesey), the events resonate with the local landscape and culture, with walks, swimming and social wellness events sitting alongside shorts, independent features and classics.
Project: Welsh Film Festival
Organisation: Theatr Gwaun
In October 2026, to ‘Celebrate 130 Years of Cinema in Wales’ Theatr Gwaun will showcase some of the best Welsh films across five screening events in Fishguard. From archive clips dating back to 1898, to the latest Welsh feature films and local shorts, they will take audiences on a historical Welsh film journey.
