The BFI has announced the eight organisations selected to help diversify film offering across the UK.

The BFI’s Audience Network ‘Hub Lead Organisations’ are:

  • Broadway Nottingham and Cambridge Film Trust;
  • Chapter, Cardiff;
  • Cornerhouse, Manchester;
  • Film London;
  • QFT (Queen’s Film Theatre), Belfast;
  • Regional Screen Scotland;
  • the University of Brighton;
  • Watershed, Bristol.

Scroll down for breakdown by venue

The eight organisations will collectively receive BFI lottery funding of up to £7.5m over four years (2013-17) to “bring new film experiences to audiences”.

The organisations will work collaboratively with partner organisations in their local areas and, together with the BFI, form a new Film Audience Network (FAN) in a bid to ensure a joined-up approach toward greater film diversity in the UK.

According to the BFI, film hub activity will be tailored to local audiences and geography, and will include support for touring and archive programmes; pop-up’s and live events; ‘projects aimed at engaging the next generation of film fans and sector led skills training in areas such as programming, marketing, fundraising and technical delivery’.

The BFI is due to announce more partners in the coming months.

Amanda Nevill, CEO of the BFI said: “BFI FAN is an important and exciting new initiative that goes to the heart of the BFI’s vision to bring a greater choice of film to audiences, no matter where they live in the UK.

“BFI FAN enables a whole range of partners across the UK - already experts at understanding their local and regional audiences - to truly work together as a network to the benefit of audiences and film makers.”

Speaking on behalf of the eight Film Hubs, Ron Inglis, chief executive of Regional Screen Scotland said: “The collaborative process that has led to the creation of BFI Film Audience Network has illustrated a huge appetite for change and improvement at grassroots level and we look forward to building on this.

“In ten years’ time, we want to look back on the setting-up of BFI FAN as a turning point for film culture in the UK: the start of a repositioning and understanding of the importance of film as a form of entertainment but as well as a way of engaging audiences in ideas, dialogue and debate about culture and society.”

The hubs

Film Hub Central East
Awarded up to £1.1m
Led jointly by Broadway Nottingham and Cambridge Film Trust.

Film Hub Wales
Awarded up to £800k
Led by Chapter Arts Centre, Cardiff.              

Film Hub North West Central
Awarded up to £1.1m
Led by Cornerhouse, Manchester.

Film Hub London
Awarded up to £800k
Led by Film London.

Film Hub Northern Ireland
Awarded up to £800k
Led by QFT [Queen’s Film Theatre], Belfast.

Film Hub Scotland 
Awarded up to £800k
Led by Regional Screen Scotland.

Film Hub South East
Awarded up to £900k
Led by the University of Brighton, Film Hub SE is managed by a consortium of Brighton-based partners: Brighton & Hove City Council, Cinecity (curates and presents Brighton’s annual film festival), Lighthouse (creative agency working at the intersection of the art, film and education), Picturehouse Cinemas (UK’s leading arthouse cinema) and Screen Archive South East (collecting, preserving, promoting and providing public access to screen heritage).

Film Hub South West and West Midlands
Awarded up to £1.2m
Led by Watershed, Bristol.

Topics