Since summer 2018, BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) has been supporting four new release films each year to help exhibitors across the UK engage with more diverse audiences and programme more titles that might be perceived as being ‘risky’ or ‘too challenging’. Anyone can submit a film for consideration and we particularly welcome submissions from film distributors and exhibitors.
BFI FAN has previously supported a diverse line-up of films including: Clio Bernard’s Ali & Ava, the Romanian social satire Bad Luck Banging or Loony Porn, Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Shoplifters, Korean drama Burning from director Lee Chang-dong and political activism documentary Hail Satan?
- Find out about how BFI FAN supported new release titles performed in 2019/2020.
- Also, download our BFI FAN New Release flyer for additional information.
We are also working closely with FAN Young Consultants who have worked with distributors to create bespoke marketing packs for venues looking to attract 18-25 year old audience members.
Visit FAN Young Audiences for more information.
For information on how FAN can support your screening, please contact Timon Singh, Campaigns Manager, Film Hub South West at ti.s@watershed.co.uk
To find out the latest titles to receive FAN support, sign up to your local Film Hub in order to receive the Booking Now email.
Now available to book
Fashion Reimagined
Dir. Becky Hutner | Cert. 12A | 100 mins | UK | 2022
Booking: wayne.dcruz@metfilm.co.uk
Release date: 3 March 2023
In this film, follow trailblazing fashion designer Amy Powney who is on a mission to create a sustainable collection from field to finished garment and transform the way we engage with fashion. The film will be released theatrically by MetFilm Distribution.
Following its critically acclaimed launch at the Tribeca Film Festival, BIFA nominated Becky Hutner’s eye-opening documentary Fashion Reimagined will open in UK & Irish cinemas 3rd March 2023. The film follows fashion designer Amy Powney of cult label Mother of Pearl, who embarks on a three-year journey to create the first ever sustainable clothing collection from field to finished garment and transform the way we engage with fashion.
Raised off-the-grid in rural England by activist parents, Amy has always felt uneasy about the devastating environmental impact of her industry. When she wins the coveted Vogue award for the Best Young Designer of the Year, Amy decides to use the prize money to create a sustainable collection and transform her entire business. Fashion Reimagined explores Amy’s journey from outsider in the fashion world to industry leader as she examines the complexities and waste of the global supply chain, whilst her own personal revolution becomes the precursor of a much bigger societal change.
BFI FAN members that screen Fashion Reimagined can expect and request:
- HoH captioned versions of the film
- Marketing pack and assets including programme notes
- Possible in-person director Q&A available to book.
- Freelance marketing support in every Film Hub area
- Budget for Facebook/social media ads
Joyland
Dir. Saim Sadiq | Cert. TBC | 126 mins | Pakistan | 2022
Booking: dave@jadefilms.co.uk
Release date: 24 February 2023
Pakistan’s Oscar hopeful Joyland, which was previously banned from cinemas in its home country, is the latest film to receive BFI FAN New Release support.
Set in the eastern city of Lahore, Saim Sadiq’s Joyland tackles issues of gender and sexuality.
Set in bustling Lahore, the Ranases are, on the surface, a functional, patriarchal family. The household is made up of Abbas, the elderly father, the older brother, Saleem and his wife Nucchi, and younger brother Haider and his wife Mumtaz. Much to the embarrassment of his traditional father, Haider is the one in his relationship who stays at home, whilst Mumtaz goes to work at the salon every day- a job that she loves. When Haider gets a job in an erotic theatre as a backup dancer for trans starlet, Biba, and starts secretly dating her, everything changes, and the cracks that have always been there, tear the family apart.
BFI FAN members that screen Joyland can expect and request:
- HoH captioned versions of the film
- Marketing pack and assets including programme notes
- Possible in-person director Q&A available to book.
- Freelance marketing support in every Film Hub area
- Advice from Inclusive Cinema for exhibitors putting on accessible screenings
- Budget for Facebook/social media ads
Neptune Frost
Dir. Saul Williams, Anisia Uzeyman | Cert. TBC | 105 mins | US/Rwanda | 2021
Booking: theatrical@anti-worldsreleasing.co.uk
Release date: 4 November 2022
Multidisciplinary artists Saul Williams and Anisia Uzeyman bring their unique dynamism to the Afro-futurist vision of Neptune Frost.
It is a sci-fi-punk musical that’s a visually wondrous amalgamation of themes, ideas, and songs that they have been exploring in their work, including on Williams’ 2016 album MartyrLoserKing.
Neptune Frost takes place in the hilltops of Burundi, where a group of escaped coltan miners camp in an otherworldly e-waste dump, they attempt a takeover of the authoritarian regime exploiting the region’s natural resources –and its people. When an intersex runaway and an escaped miner find each other through cosmic forces, their connection sparks glitches within the greater divine circuitry.
Set between states of being – past and present, dream and waking life, colonised and free, male and female, memory and prescience – Neptune Frost is an invigorating and empowering direct download to the cerebral cortex and a call to reclaim technology for progressive political ends.
BFI FAN members that screen Neptune Frost can expect and request:
- Audio descriptive and captioned versions of the film
- Marketing pack and assets including programme notes
- Possible director in person-Q&A available to book
- Freelance marketing support in every Film Hub area
- Support from BFI FAN’s Young Consultants
- Budget for Facebook/social media ads
Queen of Glory
Dir. Nana Mensah | Cert. 15 | 78 mins | US | 2021
Booking: delphine@bohemiamedia.co.uk
Release date: 26 August 2022
‘Queen of Glory’ is the story of Sarah Obeng, the brilliant child of Ghanaian immigrants, who is quitting her Ivy League PhD program to follow her married lover to Ohio. When her mother dies suddenly, she bequeaths her daughter a Christian bookstore in the Pelham Parkway section of the Bronx where Sarah was raised. A follow-up on the classic immigrant’s tale, Queen of Glory provokes laughter and empathy, as its heroine is reborn through her inheritance.
BFI FAN members that screen Queen of Glory can expect and request:
- Audio descriptive and captioned versions of the film
- Marketing pack and assets including programme notes
- Possible director in person-Q&A available to book
- Freelance marketing support in every Film Hub area
- Advice from Inclusive Cinema for exhibitors putting on accessible screenings
- Support from BFI FAN’s Young Consultants
- Budget for Facebook/social media ads
What is the BFI Film Audience Network?
The BFI Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) aims to ensure the greatest choice of film is available for everyone across the whole of the UK. Supported by National Lottery funding, it is a unique collaboration of eight Film Hubs, managed by leading film organisations and venues strategically placed around the country. Established in 2012, it now has over 1,200 members, including cinemas, festivals, multi-arts venues, community cinemas and film archives, and is at the heart of the BFI’s strategy to build larger and more diverse audiences for UK and international film and a thriving cinema exhibition sector.
For more information on the Film Audience Network, click here.
What to expect from BFI FAN New Release support
- Regional film marketers that work on film campaigns in every Film Hub region. You can expect increased profile and visibility in your area as well as more in-venue marketing and event opportunities.
- Social media marketing budget is available for venues that screen FAN-supported titles. All venues and festivals can pitch for additional budget for grassroots marketing or event activity. Get in touch at fannewreleases@watershed.co.uk with your idea.
- A BFI FAN Marketing Pack is available for all films. Designed especially for exhibitors the pack contains event and marketing ideas, copy, images, assets, press and e-mail outreach templates to help effectively promote the film.
- FAN support focuses on developing diverse audiences for independent films. You can expect ideas and assets, as well as case studies on what’s worked (and what hasn’t!) to help with your own audience development plans.
- Long-term audience development support is available each year for a limited number of venues. Venues have already been selected for this round and we will be opening this support again from April 2019.
- An open submission process for the new release film titles FAN are supporting each year. Exhibitors and distributors can submit a title to be considered for FAN support at any time. See below for more details and to submit!
If you have a question or would like to find out more, please get in touch at fannewreleases@watershed.co.uk.
Submit a title for BFI FAN New Release support
Anyone can submit a film for consideration and we particularly welcome submissions from film distributors and exhibitors. Submissions are open on a rolling basis and we are now taking submissions for the 2022/23 season.
To qualify for FAN support, submitted films must meet at least three of the below criteria in addition to a clear rationale for its appeal to diverse audiences.
In selecting the titles, many are run by young audience members for Into Film, Young Audiences and Rife for their feedback to ensure that potential titles resonate and appeal to young audiences.
Here’s a few tips for distributors that we’ve learnt so far by promoting New Release titles.
Please note FAN will only support films scheduled for release by the FDA and certified by BBFC.
- Go beyond the mainstream offer and may be perceived as ‘risky’ or ‘challenging’
- Have potential to engage diverse audiences (as per BFI Diversity Standards), including younger audiences (aged 16-30)
- Show a diversity of on-screen portrayals, cultures and languages.
- Tell distinctive British stories – with a focus on non-London
- Make a particular contribution to the art of film (for example a distinctive style)
- FAN can impact on in terms of audience reach and engagement
Submit a film
Further information for Film Distributors:
All FAN support is focussed on reaching diverse audiences and includes:
- A tailored, regionally-focussed campaign – that looks at the entire life-span of the release – developed in conversation with the film distributor to complement national plans
- Communication to FAN member exhibitors to encourage bookings and offer regional campaign support
- A marketing consultant in each of the eight Film Hub areas working to:
- raise visibility and attendance via regional press and marketing
- support key venues with additional event activity and marketing
- A small campaign budget in each of the eight Film Hub areas
- A BFI FAN Marketing Pack designed especially for exhibitors with event and marketing ideas, copy, images, assets, press and e-mail outreach templates – ensuring exhibitors have everything in one place to help effectively promote the film
Booking Now newsletter
Booking Now is a monthly newsletter that is delivered to all FAN members. It includes booking opportunities for new releases as well as nationwide seasons (e.g. the BFI Blockbuster) and touring programmes.
Film Distributors & Event Programmers: If you have a concrete offer for FAN member exhibitors (e.g. talent available for Q&As, a touring programme or access to regional marketing support) Booking Now is the place to share it – submit information to be included via the link below.
*Please note we will not be able to include information about standard film releases. We will only include information where there is additional marketing or event activity and/or a wider programme available to book.
Sign up: If you’re a FAN Member, you can receive the Booking Now email every two weeks to receive the latest booking news. If you currently don’t receive it, sign up here.
Film Exhibitors: Booking Now is delivered automatically to FAN members – if you’re not a member yet, find out more about joining your nearest Film Hub.