Six months on since the launch of Film Hub North in its expanded form, and we’re energised by the changes that we’ve seen. Our Membership has grown, our links with the North’s filmmaking community have strengthened, and we’ve supported exhibitors to deliver diverse programmes of British, international and independent cinema to audiences across the region. As our work championing film culture in the North of England continues to develop, we have some exciting news about recent additions to the Film Hub North team – and we bid a fond farewell to a colleague moving on to pursue fresh challenges.

Anna Kime, Film Hub North co-Strategic Manager, will leave the Hub on 8 November to pursue her creative ceramics practice and to continue developing audiences for film and the arts in a freelance capacity. We’d like to join colleagues from the BFI and throughout the Film Audience Network in thanking Anna for her hard work and wishing her all the best for the future.

Sally Folkard, current Film Hub North co-Strategic Manager, will take on the role on a full-time basis from early November. Sally will be leading a recently expanded Hub team who will all contribute to our ambitious plans for film in the North.

Andy Robson joins us as Screen Heritage Producer, and will be responsible for delivering the Hub’s UK-wide screen heritage activity, working with colleagues from across the Film Audience Network. Andy previously co-founded the Marc Karlin Archive and has recently completed a collaborative PhD with the University of Sunderland and Amber Film and Photography Collective.

Roisin Mullins joins us as Programme Coordinator, and will be responsible for coordinating the Hub’s exhibition support team and overseeing related administration. Roisin has recently completed a FEDs Traineeship with Aesthetica Short Film Festival where she spearheaded the creation of the festival’s Pitching Sessions.

Shaun Harrison joins us as Talent Coordinator, and will be responsible for supporting our BFI NETWORK Talent Development team, delivering events and training to nurture emerging filmmakers in the North. Shaun has recently returned from Canada where he worked with the Toronto International Film Festival and Vancouver's DOXA Documentary Film Festival.

There’s plenty of chances to meet our team at industry events over the next few months, and we'd be happy to catch up and chat about your latest projects.

We’ll be out in force at Screening Days (Tyneside Cinema, 27-29 October) to watch the latest upcoming releases and meet exhibitors from across the North and the UK; our talent development team are presenting a number of events and an award at Aesthetica Short Film Festival (7-11 November); and we’re looking forward to Archive Screening Day (BFI Southbank, 29 November) where we’ll be on-hand to discuss our big plans for leading the Film Audience Network on screen heritage activity. The fifth edition of the This Way Up conference (Liverpool, 5-6 December) will be another key opportunity to meet with the Hub team as well as colleagues from throughout the industry as we gather to discuss the issues and innovations facing the exhibition sector in 2018 and beyond.