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Film Hub London Exhibitors' Breakfast, Barbican Cinema 2
The latest Film Hub London Exhibitors Breakfast took place last week at the . As well as marking the launch of BFI Film Audience Network's new Film Exhibition Fund, the breakfast was an opportunity for Film Hub members to hear about work being done for family audiences across London and beyond.
Susie Evans of the Barbican
The Barbicans own - the cinema curator responsible for the venues , Family Film Week and school screenings - kicked off proceedings with a dive through the history of programming for young people at the Barbican. The venue stated regular family programming in early 80s, originally with a regular host named Uncle Freddie, and continues to this day, with a renewed focus on being open to all - with screenings every week featuring show and tell intros, themed workshops and loyalty cards.
"We
aim to give our families the same range of programming as the rest of the Barbican, with world cinema, archive footage, shorts and film festivals
alongside blockbusters. I dont ever want to lose sight if the fact film is
fun, its entertaining- we want to promote the collective experience of cinema and make
it memorable. We always have someone to welcome people into the cinema - making them
feel part of the experience."
Dr Becky Parry
Next up, Saskia van Roomen & Laura Kloss of , the film club and festival formed in Bromley in 2015, spoke on their diverse audiences, targeting local children, especially those with additional needs which would normally prevent them from going to the cinema, and their ultimate goal of celebrating play, creativity and experimentation in a cinema space.
We also heard from 'sIrina Drytchak on the organisation's mission of providing support to families, both d/Deaf and hearing, on ensuring that cinema experiences are accessible to all, and independent researcher Dr Becky Parry, who won the UK Literary Association award for her research into the role of film in childrens developing literacy and is author of Children, Film and Literacy.
After a panel discussion with all of the day's presenters, focusing on building positive experiences to shape earliest cinema memories, as well as keeping them affordable and accessible, 做厙勛圖's Paul Bowman intorduced the relaunch of the FAN Film Exhibition Fund for 2023.
The fund awards funding from the BFI National Lottery to support a wide range of audience-facing activity, as part of the , creating opportunities for people to engage with UK independent and international film and the wider moving image. Organisations will be able to apply for a maximum of 瞿5,000 to cover costs such as event costs, marketing and outreach campaigns, access costs and other initiatives that has the potential to help them connect with new and diverse audiences.