Cromarty festival in the frame for film funding
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A BLACK Isle film festival is celebrating today after a funding boost secured its future for the next two years.
Cromarty Film Festival is amongst five Scottish events to receive funding from Screen Scotland to increase access to and diversity of their programmes.
The Cromarty and Resolis Film Society, which runs the event, has received £46,000 to support the development of the festival, held annually at the beginning of December, over the next two-years.
In a statement, the group said: "Cromarty Film Festival is now in its thirteenth year and this funding means our plans for the next two years are safely cloaked in sustainability, which, for a festival trying to keep going in a little place, is crucial.
"We are so grateful to Screen Scotland for their financial support, and for their continued encouragement, and we're excited to get organising this year's programme - roll on December!”
The other beneficiaries are Take One Action, Africa in Motion, Iberodocs and the Folk Film Gathering, which have all received funding.
The upcoming events have together received £340,000 through Screen Scotland’s new £600,000 Film Festivals Fund.
Projects supported specifically help to promote cinemagoing and cinemas across Scotland, and to raise the profile in particular of specialised film.
The pioneering social and environmental change festival Take One Action has received £136,000 to support the programme over the next two years. The festival takes place in Glasgow and Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Inverness.
Tamara Van Strijthem, executive director at Take One Action Film Festivals said: "At a time when community cohesion can feel particularly elusive, this is a fantastic vote of confidence in Take One Action's commitment to bringing people together, through film, to nurture communal exploration of the stories, ideas and questions at the heart of positive social change.
"We are proud and grateful to be part of a vibrant, diverse film festival landscape in Scotland. We look forward to increasing access to the work we champion by devoting more resources to our online presence and to making our events more accessible to D/deaf and disabled audiences."
Isabel Davis, executive director at Screen Scotland, said: “Film festivals bring audiences together to enjoy a rich programme of films both from across the globe and those made locally. The Film Festivals Fund provides an important opportunity to nurture film culture in Scotland, to support festivals to grow and widen their audiences.”
