As part of the new BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) wide initiative Spotlight, Film Hubs were invited to make a strategic intervention in parts of the region that currently have little cultural cinema infrastructure. Swindon’s Create Studios was awarded a £147,000 over 3-years to lead Spotlight in Swindon, Wiltshire and South Gloucestershire to nurture partnerships and grow the opportunities for people to access film screenings.

The focus has been on nurturing partnerships and capacity building, along with facilitating the direct delivery of public screenings and events with local organisations and festivals. The ambition is for this intervention to make a tangible difference and that after this period there will be a sustainable plan in place for ongoing screening activity in an area that is currently underserved.

Highlights in 2023-24 included the launch of Create Studios’ Sofa Screenings, a new Reel25 Young Programming scheme (involving 15 participants) and a taster session for organisations and individuals wanting to put on film screenings.

Create Studios’ Sofa Screenings have currently had over 30 individual events including The Old Oak with an Q&A with Rebecca O’Brien. In addition, they collaborated with Stroud Film Festival to put on screenings in Gloucester’s food banks, which saw 228 people attend.