Film Exhibition Fund recipients announced

We’re excited to announce the nine organisations that have been successful in their applications to the BFI FAN Film Exhibition Fund.

The Film Exhibition Fund ensures that audiences across Scotland can access and enjoy a diverse range of films, regardless of geography or circumstance, as part of BFI’s Screen Culture 2033 strategy. The fund supports those bringing the best independent film and broader screen experiences to their local communities, made possible thanks to BFI National Lottery and Screen Scotland funding. 

Members can apply for between £1,000 – £10,000 to support audience-facing screening projects that reach new and diverse audiences. The 2023-24 Film Exhibition Fund has two deadlines: 23 April and 14 August 2023.

We are delighted to support:

Open Road Harbour Film Nights | Fittie, Aberdeen | June 2023 – March 2024

Open Road will present a series of screenings at Fittie Community Hall and Old Torry Community Centre in Aberdeen. The programme will support specialist content including international films, documentaries and screen heritage. Additionally, they will offer community residents the chance to get involved and learn transferable technical and programming skills and knowledge.

Open Road’s previous screenings have included Limbo and The Oil Machine. 

Learn more about Open Road.

Cumbernauld Community 23-24 Screening Programme | Cumbernauld | June 2023 – March 2024

Cumbernauld Community Cinema will create a regular screening programme for four community groups in the local area, including NL Recovery Community and Cumbernauld Action Care for the Elderly. The screenings will be held in local community venues, with the provision of a meal and discussions, music and workshops  that will be developed with the community groups.

Transgressive North Folk Film Gathering 2023 | Various venues, Edinburgh | 16 June – 2 July

At the heart of Folk Film Gathering’s 2023 programme is the theme of solidarity, primarily examined via the dialogue between Scottish and Ukrainian cinemas. A collaboration with Edinburgh Ukranian Community Centre will engage Edinburgh-based Ukrainian audiences, whilst North Edinburgh Arts will support the delivery of screenings in an area of low provision in North Edinburgh.

The programme is full of songs, stories and live music to accompany the diverse selection of films. Screenings will take place at Cameo Picturehouse, North Edinburgh Arts, Grassmarket Community Project, Scottish Storytelling Centre and online.

View the programme here.

Fringe of Colour Films 2023 | Summerhall, Edinburgh and online | 23 – 29 June

Fringe of Colour Films celebrates the creative work of Black, Asian, Indigenous and Latine people in Scotland and around the world. Their 2023 online and in-person programme will feature six strands – Soil, Seeds, Rooted, Nourish, Symbiosis, Pollination – that prompt us to think about our connection to our environment.

Films will include: Fringe of Colour-commissioned feature Black Gold, a meditation on the work of the trailblazing Scottish-Ghanaian artist Maud Sulter; In the place where we left and arrived, a documentary-style exploration of the queer Chinese diaspora and the Scottish premier of Violeta & Sofia, a short considering how, as generational migrants, two friends stay connected to their cultures.

View the full programme here.

Scottish Queer International Film Festival (SQIFF) 2023 | Various venues, Glasgow | 26 – 30 September 2023

The eight edition of SQIFF’s annual festival dedicated to LGBTQ+ cinema will will present several days of film screenings, workshops, panel discussions, and filmmaker Q&As. It will expand beyond its usual home at CCA to include workshops at Glasgow Women’s Library, reaching queer communities from different parts of the city.

Learn more about SQIFF.

Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival 2023 | Various venues, Glasgow and online | September 2023

Following the success of last year’s programme, Samizdat will continue to screen contemporary and classic films from Eastern Europe and Central Asia that represent talented, marginalised and subversive voices at the CCA and Common Ground in Glasgow.

Learn more about Samizdat Eastern European Film Festival.

Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival | Edinburgh | 30 September – 29 October 2023

Now in its tenth edition, this well established and dynamic artistic and cultural festival aims to bring a range of voices from Spain and Latin America to audiences in Scotland. The programme will include regional cinema with Basque, Catalan and Galician films.

Learn more about Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival.

Puppet Animation Scotland: Manipulate Festival 2024 | Summerhall, Edinburgh and online | 1 – 10 February 2024

Showcasing animation from Scotland and around the world, the 2024 festival programme will prevent shorts programmes, feature films, talk and networking events.

Learn more about Puppet Animation Scotland.

Skye Community Cinema | Isle of Skye | March 2023 – May 2024

The community cinema’s main venue is the only cinema on the Isle of Skye: LAS Cinema. Their 23/24 programme will build on last year’s successful screenings that brought inspiring, and mostly unknown, independent films to a rural community, accompanied by Q&A’s relevant to the film.

Learn more about Skye Community Cinema.