BFFS South of England Networking Event

With the support of Screen South, BFFS held a free networking day on 6th October for all involved with community cinema provision in the South of England. The facilitated event was held at the BFI Southbank’s Delegate Centre and was attended by 30 delegates from around the region, bringing together established film societies and volunteer-run community cinemas, potential new start-ups and venues.
The aim of this event was to provide opportunities for all involved in the community exhibition to discuss needs, share experience, and discover what support is available to their ventures.

After introductions, presentations were given covering BFFS, its Regional Groups and what they offer, and how the BFFS regional support framework operates. A screening of the BFFS Scotland-produced Cinema for All DVD once again proved an invaluable tool in demonstrating how different community exhibitors operate.

Main topics of discussion were: accessing prints and DVDs; finding funding; Filmbank licences in operation; accessing archive material to screen; venue entertainment licensing and disability rights; equipment and public liability insurance needs; the importance of knowing your audience and developing a relationship of trust and familiarity; programming hints and tips; charitable status of organisations, forms of constitution and HMRC position on Gift Aid possibilities. The latter led to an interesting comparison between community exhibitors and Farmers’ Markets in terms of customers having the patience to seek out quality.

Three break-out groups covering the South, South East and London areas discussed how they might benefit from staying networked and what support and experiences they would be able share.

The networking day was well-received with a clear demand for similar events in the near future. Thanks are due to BFI staff, Screen South, and BFFS volunteers for their time and effort to make the day successful, and to all delegates who gave up their Saturday to attend.

As a result of the meeting 3 virtual networks of interested organisations and individuals has been set up to continue the exchange of news and ideas. These cover the ‘South’ (Bucks, Berks, Hants, Surrey, Oxon, IoW), the ‘South East’ (Kent, E/W Sussex) and ‘London’.

To get involved with the new South of England Networks please contact Ros Hill on 0114 2210314 or email info@bffs.org.uk