Showroom Cinema awarded £585,000 as part of The BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund

This week, the British Film Institute (BFI) announced the first 23 beneficiaries of ‘The BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund’, a rolling £19.7m open fund supporting the exhibition and distribution of nationally significant audience-facing, independent film, and immersive projects over the next three years.

Showroom Cinema is delighted to be awarded £585,000 as part of the initiative, for a new three-year project titled ‘Festival Foundations & Film Futures.’

The funding will support Sheffield’s original independent cinema to develop a new film festival for children and young people, and support community outreach and partnerships, new working practices, and increased access to screen culture.

Johnathan Ilott, Head of Programming at Showroom Cinema says: “Showroom is a cultural cornerstone for the Sheffield City region, bringing the best in international, independent, and world cinema to local audiences. For over 30 years, we have expanded access to screen culture, championed diverse voices, and created meaningful opportunities for young people to engage with, learn from, and shape the stories on screen.

We’re delighted that this funding will help us to keep building those ambitions and deliver even more screenings, programmes and festivals that have audiences and inclusivity at their heart.”

Find a link to the full BFI Press Release: BFI invests £9.25 million to support UK-wide screen culture for audiences: https://www.bfi.org.uk/news/support-uk-wide-screen-culture-audiences