Previous funded projects reflect on their activity
Published:
12 Jun 2025
With the second round of our Film Exhibition Fund now open, we caught up with four of our funded projects for 2024-25 to reflect on their learnings.
For exhibitors planning to apply for this Film Exhibition Fund round, these case studies offer actionable takeaways to inform and strengthen proposals. We hear from:
· Yorkshire and North East Film Archive on bringing archive footage to former mining communities
· The Bay International Film Festival on adapting their programming to be more age inclusive
· Tyne Valley Film Festival on how local partnerships improved audience growth
· Scarborough Film Festival on learning important lessons about marketing and volunteer involvement.
Round 2 of our Film Exhibition Fund closes on Monday 23 June – learn more and apply here.
Yorkshire and North East Film Archive
First screened at the Women X Festival, Darlington, in September 2024, In The Veins has since been programmed in Hartlepool, Washington, Stockton, Middlesbrough, Leeds, Wakefield, Sheffield, Doncaster and Quaking Houses, bringing the film directly to former mining towns and villages. Taking archive footage to these communities (rather than cinema institutions) encouraged engagement with the working-class communities whose lives were reflected on screen.
The Yorkshire and North East Film Archive’s tour of In the Veins benefited from partner events – 15 screenings – which allowed them to reach more diverse audiences. Collective efforts to programme the events – including pairing the film with other screenings – and strong marketing has helped the project go from strength-to-strength.
We’ve had an overwhelming response to the In the Veins project, which has included screenings of the short film, archive pairings and wrap around activities.
Variations between the original plan and the project outcomes have differed in the number of events (which increased) however we were pleased to exceed our ambitious audience target of 1000. Some of the initial partners were unable take part but we collaborated with new partners and took opportunities to grow our audience reach.
All screenings had subtitles, which though time-consuming to undertake (especially with the longer ‘full’ television programmes), was appreciated by audiences especially when it came to rich regional dialects.
A minor problem came in the form of their volunteer programme, as community champions were initially hard to bring on board and needed more guidance on messaging. But the project was supported ‘in kind’ by the 13-strong volunteer team going the extra mile, to filmmakers of the original source material being so accommodating – the tour’s success was a team effort.
In the Veins screening at the National Coal Mining Museum for England - image credit YNEFA
The Bay International Film Festival
The festival ran from November 8 to December 1, featuring independent films, short film programmes, and community screenings; including special events like Q&As with filmmakers, networking events, and an awards ceremony.
The festival’s audience has evolved, expanding geographically with regional attendance (across the North of England) now at 38%. TBIFF has reflected on their work engaging children and young people after implementing programming changes:
We developed the "Teen Media Team" programme, engaging 20 local 16-18-year-olds in festival coverage through photo, video, and interviews, supported by Lancaster University and Lancaster and Morecambe College. Participants gained hands-on experience in media production and event coverage, while building professional networks.
In response to feedback that our 2023 programme was too adult-focused, we adjusted our 2024 programming to be more age-inclusive, with the majority of screenings suitable for 12+ and 15+ audiences.
We also introduced children's programming through an animation workshop, which received enthusiastic responses from both young participants and parents.
Under-25 attendance remained at 20%, highlighting that content accessibility alone isn’t enough: they plan to expand their children's programming to a dedicated full-day event their next edition, alongside targeted youth engagement strategies (involving local schools and colleges in programme development and event promotion).
The main challenge this year was operational – scheduling conflicts prevented the festival from securing certain speakers, and competing screening slots with blockbuster releases. They adapted by engaging alterative speakers who, though lower profile, provided valuable audience engagement, and by replacing feature film screenings with a larger short film offering. The festival is now considering moving its dates to avoid competition from major releases, and will create stronger relationships with community venues.
The festival was praised for its inclusive atmosphere, supported by an accessible pricing model which included donation-based tickets (TBIFF plan to optimise this in the future by improving communication around discounted tickets to community groups). Providing free refreshments at community screenings created a welcoming space for pre-and post-film discussions.
Networking event at the Bay International Film Festival - image credit Yin Zhang
Tyne Valley Film Festival
Tyne Valley Film Festival shows films in 23 venues in the Tyne Valley area, including Hexham Library, The Tannery, and villages across the Tyne Valley region, with the festival’s base in the Forum Cinema Hexham. The festival brings independent film to some of the most rural and isolated villages in England – with Northumberland the most sparsely populated county in England with limited access to cinemas.
In-house admissions were up this year, due to an increased amount of preview screenings, a UK film premiere (The Courageous) and a strong marketing programme that included advertising in the wider county.
The festival has nurtured strong community partnerships with local villages and clubs who host screenings, and has benefited from this enthusiasm:
This whole project is about social connection and community engagement. People from very isolated places come together to enjoy and celebrate film – most of the clubs do something extra to support their films – such as offering Syrian food, bringing puddings to the films and even dressing up. Many of the films seem to be a way of bringing the world into Northumberland.
This year, the team shifted their advertising strategy to focus more on outreach across the wider county and Newcastle, a move that proved effective. Promotions in publications such as Living North, The Crack, and features in Narc and The Courant have helped raise the festival’s profile, and staff noticed an increase in first-time visitors.
Labyrinthine Oceans launch Tyne Valley Film Festival followed by a screening of Phantom of the Paradise - image credit TVFF
Scarborough Film Festival
Scarborough Film Festival was the second iteration of the festival on the Yorkshire coast, running from 15-23 March. It included 18 events: kids screenings and workshops, enhanced film events including with a punk gig and a choir, a film poster workshop, a 19th century magic lantern show, the launch of a new artist’s film and much more. They partnered with the Stephen Joseph Theatre to deliver the majority of these events.
This was the festival’s first year working with volunteers, with the aim to support festival delivery:
In total we had 10 volunteers carrying out various roles from photography, setting up screens and tech, ushering, reviewing, counting voting slips, to aiding in facilitating kids workshops. It was a great success and we will look to roll this out further in future editions, and look to include new positions such as social media and logistics.
Improved operations aside, SFF also increased their offering for young people and children as part of a longer-term strategy. They delivered screenings and workshops to local primary school children in the town’s library, and produced specific kids event flyers for these, which were distributed to parents through school bags. They also appointed a youth jury member for their regional shorts competition to include their voices in programming decisions.
Attendance at the festival was lower than anticipated, largely understood as a response to taking programming risks. Access to film and culture in the town is limited, and SFF showed titles that otherwise wouldn’t be shown in Scarborough. After reflecting on this, the festival plans to enhance future screenings of more challenging material with local speakers that are relevant to the film’s theme, to encourage understanding and participation.
The festival did see boosts to their social media engagement though, doubling their Instagram following by using frequent targeted ads. A trailer cut for the festival and scheduled posts about daily events proved most successful.
98% of the festival’s survey respondents expressed positive feelings about the organisation’s presence in the community, with many feeling a stronger sense of belonging thanks to the festival's programming.
The Funky Tuesday Choir perform before a screening of Dancing Queen – image credit Simon Heaton
