Newcastle Community Cinema wins BFFS British Film Society of the Year Award
UK film societies and community cinemas saw their hard work and dedication rewarded at the BFFS Film Society of the Year Awards 2012, which took place at the Ciné Lumière, London on Saturday 22 September.
The awards are hosted by the British Federation of Film Societies (BFFS), and celebrate the achievements of volunteer-led community cinema, recognising the strength and diversity of a sector that is the backbone of UK film exhibition.
The awards were presented by BFFS Managing Director Deborah Parker and were announced by Amanda Nevill, Chief Executive of the BFI. In her address, Amanda commented on the significance of film societies and community cinemas in the UK, ‘[Film Societies] should remember with considerable pride that not only are [they] bringing joy to the people in [their] local communities but [they] are also a lynch pin in one of the industries that is keeping Britain afloat at the moment.’
The Engholm Prize for Film Society of the Year was awarded to Newcastle Community Cinema – the first Northern Irish organisation to win the honour. Newcastle Community Cinema also walked away with the Best Marketing and Publicity Award and the Community Award as well as a commendation for their film programme. BFFS MD Deborah Parker said, ‘Newcastle Community Cinema knows how to put on a great film show – how to get people off their sofas and watching, sharing and talking about film. They know how to reach out to others, how to engage filmmakers and most of all how to show a town with no other way of watching films together why it’s worth spending an evening sitting next to a stranger watching a film. At this community cinema, there are no strangers by the end.’
Based in Newcastle Co Down NCC is run by 6 likeminded volunteers with a passion for film, the Newcastle Community Cinema is a non-profit making organisation with one aim - to bring great movies, new and old, familiar and less-so, to the people of Newcastle and its surrounding region. Since the gala opening screening of The Shining in Halloween of 2009, to an Annesley Hall bursting with 170 guests, the Cinema has endeavoured to provide a wide range of films on a monthly basis, catering for all tastes in a relaxed, informal atmosphere. Boasting a well-stocked bar, and a traditional popcorn machine at every show, NCC is a welcome alternative to the multiplex way of enjoying films, and puts the old fashioned excitement back into “Saturday Night at the Movies”!
In the past 12 months NCC have screened over 18 films on a monthly bases and have screened at Belfast Culture Night 2011 & 2012 and were the team behind the hugely successful Blue Moon Pop Up Film Festival held at the Dark Horse car park in Belfast’s Cathedral Quarter.
For further information on the BFFS Film Society of the Year awards please click here.