Film Forres to invest Lottery funding to strengthen community ties
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A LOCAL cinema group has been awarded more than £8,000 to strengthen its connections with the community.
Film Forres will use £8,500 from the National Lottery Community Fund to employ a part-time film and audience development officer for a year, who will aim to improve its community marketing and how it communicates with its audience.
Committee member and Forres-based film-maker, Tim Flood, explained: "The role will play an important part in the Forres community, promoting understanding of film as a medium and building relationships with different audiences."
Film Forres promotes a range of community film activities including regular screenings for various age groups. It also loans or hires its film equipment to other groups for screenings, performance and related activities.
As well as improving the audio-visual equipment it owns, Film Forres has introduced cabaret-style seating at over-18 screenings and bring-your-own-bottle invitations for a more relaxed, friendly atmosphere.
However, fortnightly family screening nights during the winter months continue to be the main focus for Film Forres' small band of volunteers.
Film School Forres, a separate funding initiative, aims to create learning opportunities for young an older people.
A new development officer will help co-ordinate and promote the community aspects of Film Forres’s activities, with the long-term objective of creating a self-sustaining film-based community group offering opportunities to promote business and social interaction through screen media.
Film Forres chairman, Gareth Edwards, said: "With this award, we can begin to plan for ways in which we can bring people together again. It’s good news to be able to offer employment for someone in these times, and in a role that might pave the way to support our community and our local entertainments industry."
The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland director, Neil Ritch, confirmed the support in Forres is part of a funding package totalling £3,384,222 for groups across the country.
He said: "These awards, made possible by National Lottery players, are making an amazing contribution to the nation-wide response to combat the impact of Covid-19 on local communities across Scotland.
"This funding will make a huge difference to the lives of thousands of people. A package of tailored support can improve well-being and help forge a sense of belonging to a wider community again."
Film Forres secretary, Brian Hill, added: "This is a difficult time for our community and we were sad to have to suspend our activities because of the Covid crisis. We hope, though, that this news gives a ray of hope for the future. Our team is continuing to plan for the time when we can all be together as a community."A LOCAL interest group has been awarded more than £8,000 to strengthen its connections with the community.
