Bfi National Lottery Audience Projects Fund

Cinema For All is today excited to announce we have been successful in our application for multi-year support from the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund, with our project ‘Building diverse grassroots audiences through the power of affordable, local, volunteer-led cinema.’ Funding of £520,440, distributed over three years, includes activities, training, bursaries and developments that will support significant growth for the volunteer-led cinema sector, which comprises over 1,500 groups in the UK. It will also see significant digital developments to the mycommunitycinema.org.uk website, which enables the public to find their nearest film society or community cinema, and the Cinema For All Booking Scheme, which allows affordable access to the best in international, independent and British film. Chief executive Deborah Parker said: I am absolutely delighted that our ambitious bid has been successful and am thrilled to receive this support from the BFI Audience Projects Fund. Thanks to the dedication and hard work of our amazing team for all they have done to bring us to this pivotal moment: I am excited to embark on these key projects, which will transform how we support community cinema in the UK and help their fantastic work to thrive. Chair Andrew Ormston said: John Grierson helped found the film society movement and famously said ‘the drama is on your doorstep’ and today community cinema is more important than ever. This 3 year agreement means that as we approach our 80th anniversary year we can expand our work with a membership that extends across all of the UK. Ahead of the 100 year anniversary of the first film society, a milestone we will be celebrating in 2025, this key support will ensure the growth of the community cinema sector, the widening of access of cinema experiences and will support volunteer-led cinemas in lessening their environmental impact - creating a long lasting legacy of cinema for all.