FOR THE LOVE OF FILM COMPETITION

The Screen Machine out in the wild

BAFTA/Dana Thompson

LOCAL HEROES: FOR THE LOVE OF FILM

WORDS BY TOBY WEIDMANN

At the end of 2018, BAFTA launched a new competition to recognise individuals from across the UK who have gone above and beyond to bring film to their communities. Following hundreds of applications, nominating a host of inspirational figures, the competition has gone from strength to strength, prompting the launch of the competition for a second year in 2019. Here, the original winners of the For the Love of Film competition explain why cinema is so important.

FOR HIS REVIEW OF BILL 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 work goes far beyond simply screening films; they connect with their local communities on a much deeper level.

“Screen Machine is a cultural event,” explains MacColl, who has been with Screen Machine from the very beginning (as an aside, Local Hero is one of his favourite films). “It brings the high street cinema experience to your doorstep. It’s also important from a social aspect: young and old, families, they all come together to watch a film in a lovely, comfortable auditorium, which is as good as any multiplex. The picture and sound quality is exactly the same as you’d get in any cinema. In some of the small villages, they actually tell me they’d rather wait and watch a film in the Screen Machine, because it’s a whole other experience. It’s friendly, everybody knows everybody. It really creates a social occasion for the local people in that village.”

Iain MacColl in the Screen Machine

BAFTA/Dana Thompson

Ellis’ Jam Jar Cinema was named after a tradition where you could go to a cinema at a discounted rate or for free if you brought along a jam jar, an idea originated in Tyneside. For Ellis, his cinema provides a vital social service to Whitley Bay and its community, with the town’s 36,000 population and businesses hit hard by the recession.

“I firmly believe everybody should have access to an independent cinema in their town,” he says. “For us, cinema isn’t just about watching films. There are plenty of ways to do that these days. Cinema is about that shared, collective experience, whether it’s going to see the latest blockbuster, or finding an excuse to get out of the house or just wanting a really positive social occasion with the family. Cinemas are fast becoming social hubs of the community and that’s what we were lacking in Whitley Bay. The town was really down on its luck, we had a lot of businesses close, we had a lot of people living in terrible temporary accommodation and we didn’t have a community centre. So as much as we are a cinema, we’re also a hub for all of the community.”

Dan Ellis at Jam Jar Cinema

Courtesy of Jam Jar Cinema

Originally Jam Jar was a volunteer organisation, but the cinema’s success has meant it’s now a fully-fledged business, with a team of dedicated staff who are all locals and share Ellis’ passion for film and bringing people together. It welcomes more than 45,000 cinema-goers and screens 200-plus films a year in a programme that Ellis describes as “a little bit independent, a little bit blockbuster, a lot of British and a few other things speckled in”. Ellis also subsidises special fundraising events, raising money for local good causes.

Screen Machine, meanwhile, is funded by Creative Scotland and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, with further support from Caledonian MacBrayne. Housed in a large articulated truck, which transforms into a comfortable 80-seat auditorium, it’s no easy feat to bring the Screen Machine to some very remote areas – if you’ve driven round any of Scotland’s tight winding roads, you will understand the skill it needs. It has a 40-stop schedule, which is repeated three times a year, with its mix of blockbusters and more arthouse, independent fare reaching more than 30,000 people.

“We would love to do more,” MacColl notes, who as a Screen Machine operator must do everything, from driving to the venue to setting up, selling and collecting the tickets and projecting the films (he also maintains the equipment and lorry). “Screen Machine is a victim of its own success. More and more villages are asking us to come to them, but we’re at the maximum of what we can do. If finances allow, we’d love to run two Screen Machines because there’s certainly a need for it... We have regulars in every venue we play, who have been coming for years – they even have their favourite seats. The cinema belongs to the community. It’s their cinema. They often remember the first film they ever watched in the Screen Machine. These are strong memories and cherished memories.”

He adds, laughing: “It’s such an intimate experience here that the customers will give me a hard time if they haven’t enjoyed a film, like I’m the director, writer and producer.”

Both MacColl and Ellis were surprised when they were chosen as the winners of the For the Love of Film competition. However, they say it’s the knock-on effects that have been so meaningful.

Helpful staff at Jam Jar Cinema

Courtesy of Jam Jar Cinema

“It’s opened Screen Machine up to a wider audience, more people are aware, not just in the Highlands and islands but all over the world, of what we do,” MacColl says. “It’s gone way beyond the reach of what a normal competition would do. The exposure alone is invaluable and for BAFTA to recognise the small guys is incredible. I did not think for a second that BAFTA would even know what the Screen Machine was, far less pick me as the winner. BAFTA made a three-minute video about the Screen Machine and it’s been viewed more than 240,000 times. That’s special. You can’t buy that kind of publicity.”

Ellis adds: “It’s a brave and bold way for BAFTA to look at places that are actually exhibiting and support the exhibitor sector. It gave us great profile and we managed to raise some finance on the back of the publicity. A year down the line, we’ve added a second and third screen. On the surface, it is just a lovely reward, but in the real world it’s actually enabled us to do so much more. It’s helped our business and it’s helped our staff. The feeling of pride in our town afterwards was huge.”

With so much to focus on the creation, promotion and exhibition of feature films, it’s easy to become blinkered to how they are enjoyed by the public. As Jam Jar Cinema and Screen Machine illustrate, where a film is shown plays a vital role in the power of cinema and its positive effects on communities. “Our biggest asset is people,” concludes Ellis, “from punters who come through the door to staff who help run the venue. Little things can make a huge difference to a town. And if we can do it here, then there are plenty of other towns that could benefit from the same thing.”