Free Into Film Festival returns to Devon

“To be in a crowded cinema full of young, enthusiastic film fans is a real joy because you realise that the work you are doing is going to reach future generations.  I think just opening these young people’s minds to the excitement and inspiration that’s possible with film and combining that with education is an immense and important undertaking that Into Film is engaged with and the fact that they do all this for free is just incredible”. Rosamund Pike (A United Kingdom, An Education, Gone Girl)

For three weeks this autumn young people in the South West can enjoy a free, fun and educational trip to the cinema at the Into Film Festival 2017 – the world’s biggest youth film festival - which returns from 8th to 24th November with its diverse programme of free screenings and events for 5-19 year-olds. 

This year will see more screenings for the region than ever before, with the South West recognised as an important area for providing educational development through film.  Open to schools, colleges, youth leaders and home educators the Festival uses the magic of film – from exclusive preview screenings of new blockbusters to popular classics - to engage young minds in a broad range of topics.  Mental health, anti-bullying and the environment will be key themes.

With support from all the major chains, as well as independent and unusual venues, the Festival provides access to the big screen at its best.   Accessibility and inclusivity are key aims with over half of the programme offered as audio-described, subtitled or autism-friendly.

Festival highlights in the South West area include:

- Preview screenings of sharp American drama The Battle of the Sexes ahead of its UK-wide release in Exeter  

- Climate change documentaries, An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power showing at Bristol Watershed and Bath, and Chasing Coral screened in the National Marine Aquarium, Plymouth

- Autism-friendly screenings of films including Trolls in Exeter, Moana in Torquay, Lego Ninjago in Salisbury, Beauty and the Beast (1991) in Yeovil and St Ives, and Despicable Me 3 in Bristol.

- Free screenings of a wide selection of films for all ages including, among others:  Hidden Figures in Exeter, Bristol, St Austell and Falmouth, Beauty and the Beast (2017) in Tiverton, Falmouth and Redruth, Zootropolis in Exeter, Salisbury, Torbay, Rogue One in Plymouth, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in Bristol, Exeter, Bournemouth, St Austell, Truro and Torbay, Roald Dhal’s Revolting Rhymes in Somerset, Dunkirk in Bournemouth, Exeter and Bristol, The Nut Job 2: Nutty by Nature Torquay, Bournemouth, Bristol and St Austell and I, Daniel Blake in Exeter.

Tickets for all screenings and events are available to book for free at www.intofilm.org/events/festival

The Festival is hosted by Into Film as part of an on-going initiative to put film at the heart of young people’s learning and personal development, and made possible by support from the BFI, Cinema First, a wide collaboration with UK cinema industry partners and delivery partners National Schools Partnership.

Film titles are curated into six broad themes: Activate, Effecting Change; Let’s Play; No Borders, No Boundaries; Generation Z; History in Action; and Thriller (supporting the BFI’s blockbuster Autumn season).  Chosen with educators in mind they are supported by the Festival’s various educational resources featuring discussion questions, review starters and extension activities for use on the day and back in the classroom, where screenings can continue to serve as a stimulus for a variety of tasks.  In response to teacher feedback many of the resources will this year, for the first time, be in PowerPoint format so teachers can adapt them to suit the needs of their students.    Screenings can also be used to support calendar events such as Anti-Bullying Week and Parliament Week, taking place during the Festival’s duration.

In a survey of teachers who attended last year:

-94% of teachers said the Festival activities were useful in helping to deliver the curriculum
-94% of teachers felt the Festival activities were valuable in terms of the broader education of young people, and
-82% of teachers said that the Festival has made them more likely to use cinema visits to support the delivery of the curriculum.

“I cannot state how wonderful this experience was for my pupils...I felt honoured to be able to take some of these children to the cinema for the first time. I believe this is a trip which they will remember and think back on for a very long time. I teach in a deprived area and this trip was very special for staff and pupils alike.”  Teacher, Into Film Festival 2016

The Into Film Festival 2017 will take place from 8th-24th November.  All events and screenings are free.  For image requests please contact Sarah Wilby, details below.  For programme information, to book tickets and download resources visit www.intofilm.org/festival