LOCA L HEROES FOR THE LOVE OF FIL M WORDS BY TOBY WEIDM ANN IMAGES COURTESY OF BAFTA/DANA THOMPSON, JAM JAR CINEMA
IAIN MACCOLL SCREEN MACHINE
DAN ELLIS JAM JAR CINEMA
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A T T H E E N D O F 2 018 , B A F T A L A U N C H E D A N E W CO M PE T I T I O N TO R ECO G N I S E I N D I V I D UA LS FROM ACROSS THE UK WHO HAVE GONE A B OV E A N D B E YO N D TO B R I N G FI L M TO T H EI R CO M M U N I T I ES. F O L LOW I N G H U N D R EDS O F A PPLICATIONS, NOM INATING A HOST OF INSPIR ATIONA L FIGURES, THE COM PE TITION H A S G O N E FRO M ST R EN GT H TO ST R EN GT H, PROMPTING THE L AUNCH OF THE COMPE TITION F O R A S E CO N D Y E A R. OV ER T H E F O L LOW I N G PA G E S , W E T E L L T H E S TO R Y O F T H E I N A U G U R A L W I N N ERS O F T H E F O R T H E LOV E O F FI L M COMPE TITION, A ND PROFILE THIS YE A RÔS T W O R E C I P I E N T S ... FO R H IS REVI EW O F BI LL Forsyth’s wonderful film Local Hero (1983), critic Roger Ebert wrote: “Nothing is more absorbing than human personalities, developed with love and humour.” While this is a nearperfect observation of Forsyth’s heartwarming comedy (for which he won a BAFTA for his direction), it’s also an apt description of the winners of BAFTA’s For the Love of Film competition, first launched in December 2018.
Across the country, unsung heroes go the extra mile to share their love of film with others. Some save their local cinemas from closure, some run film clubs in local care homes, others have made a social impact on a grand scale through their joy for cinema. Whatever their contribution, they have become legends in their local communities. Iain MacColl and Dan Ellis, the winners of the inaugural For the Love of Film competition (selected by a panel of expert industry judges), not only approach their work with great love and humour, they are also local heroes to those who benefit from their passion. MacColl is the senior operator of Screen Machine, the UK’s only full-time, self-contained mobile cinema, serving 40 communities across some of the remotest areas of Scotland since 1998. Ellis is the founder and managing director of Jam Jar Cinema in Whitley Bay, near Newcastle, one of the largest towns in the country without a cinema before its opening in 2013. As independent exhibitors, their
