Getting Started

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Getting Started

Whether you intend to set up a formal film society, or just hold occasional public screenings, it’s advisable to form a working group or committee. It can be a headache to organise film shows alone, and a wider range of abilities and tastes in film will lead to more successful and popular screenings.

Once you have formed a group, you may want to hold a test screening to see how the equipment works, and to gauge the level of local interest in regular film shows. Either the British Federation of Film Societies or the Virtual Film Club can help set up such a screening, by providing the equipment and film. Contact us if you would like to arrange such a screening.

Screenings can take place in almost any venue, but the bigger the distance between the screen and the projector (the throw), the bigger the image you can screen. Blackout curtains or shutters are a must, and if your venue doesn’t have raked seating, you need a reasonably high ceiling so that the screen can be positioned high enough for a clear view from all seats (particularly if you are showing subtitled films).

A test screening is a good opportunity to sign up some volunteers to form a formal Committee, who can then decide on programming, fundraising, subscription/ticket prices, publicity and recruitment.

Due to the commercial considerations in the hiring and exhibition of films, some formal structure is required and your 'team' will form the Committee. In general, you will need a Chairman, Secretary, Treasurer, and Publicity Officer.

Chairman: runs the meetings, keeps members informed and focussed and hopefully makes the meetings enjoyable.

Secretary: organises committee meeting agendas, minutes, books films, replies to correspondence, and is in general charge of the administration of the society.

Treasurer: monitors income and expenditure, keeps the books, prepares annual accounts, is involved in obtaining grants, and fundraising.

Publicity Officer: produces the essential publicity materials.

Other Roles: You will need someone responsible for projection and someone in charge of front of house to prepare the venue, provide refreshments, and sell tickets on the door.

Some of the above roles can be demanding, so be flexible. You can, for example, divide the Secretary's post in two by having a Membership Secretary (who deals with agendas, minutes, day to day administration etc) and a Booking Secretary (who deals with film bookings and special events). In other words, decide how you want to operate and make sure you have enough keen people to commit time, energy and ideas.

The BFFS recommends drawing up a constitution, which will give you legal protection and provide credibility with film providers, funding organisations and local authorities. The BFFS model constitution is available to all BFFS members upon request.