Film Hub Scotland
Membership Agreement
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
As described in their five-year plan Film Forever, the BFI wants to encourage people to build a
lifelong relationship with film, to help build audiences for a broader range of films across all
platforms and ensure that film culture can be accessed and enjoyed by everyone across the UK.
The BFI plan for 2013–17 contains a range of interlinked strategies to help achieve these aims and
the UK Film Audience Network is at the heart of these. The Network is a coalition of organisations
across the UK that will work together to extend film choice, increase and broaden film audiences,
and enhance opportunities for audiences to engage with and learn about film.
The UK Film Audience Network is made up of nine hubs/networks of geographically specific
groupings of organisations that share a commitment to the aims of Film Forever and the Network
objectives.
Film Hub Scotland (FHS) is managed by Scottish Film, a consortium consisting of:
 Centre for the Moving Image (Edinburgh Filmhouse, Edinburgh International Film Festival &
Belmont Filmhouse)
 Dundee Contemporary Arts
 Eden Court Theatre & Cinema, Inverness
 Glasgow Film (GFT & Glasgow Film Festival)
 Regional Screen Scotland
MISSION OVERVIEW FOR FILM HUB SCOTLAND
Focused on boosting audience choice, we seek to deliver:
 transformative change in cinema watching and understanding for individuals and all
communities across Scotland
 deeper and broader engagement in film of audiences across Scotland
 stronger and better communities, linking communities with films and filmmakers
 longer-term sustainability of provision and opportunity
 more viewing opportunities
 more diversity of cinema content
 more varied ways of viewing films including streaming and off-line options
 support for audience development programmes with a UK remit
 improved provision of cinema-going for all sections of Scottish society including those with
disabilities and from minority ethnic groups.
IN PURSUIT OF THESE WE WILL SEEK TO:
 support increased inter-organisational operating structures and, where appropriate, explore
models and practices of shared services between organisations
 establish effective working relationships with the other UK HLOs
 establish effective working relationships with an independent talent development network in
Scotland
 work with Into Film, the BFI and Creative Scotland to ensure roll-out of the 5–19 Education
Scheme is effective and appropriate to the specific circumstances in Scotland.
www.filmhubscotland.com
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Film Hub Scotland
Membership Agreement
ABOUT FHS MEMBERSHIP
The Film Hub Scotland Network is of and for members; member engagement and support is
fundamental to the longer-term legacy of the Network. Membership of FHS is free and will offer
the following benefits:
BENEFITS OF BECOMING A MEMBER
 Sector-specific training opportunities and bursaries (details below)
 Access to FHS funding schemes (details below)
 Increased opportunities for networking – sharing ideas and exchanging information
 Collaboration on joint programming and audience development projects with greater
ambition and reach than would be possible alone
 Offer of peer-to-peer mentoring and sharing of expertise through FHS and other UK Hubs
 Opportunities to take part in UK-wide initiatives with associated profile
 Advantageous to be part of joint bids to BFI Programme Development Fund
 Build stronger profile for the exhibition sector in Scotland through lobbying
 Influence decisions about how film funding is prioritised.
FHS BURSARIES AND FUNDING SCHEMES
Members will be eligible to apply to the FHS Bursary Scheme which will cover the costs of
attending training courses, conferences, screening days, and visits to organisations and festivals in
a ‘go and see’ capacity.
FHS will be conducting a survey of members’ training needs (as part of the Membership
Application procedure) and developing courses with partner organisations based on those needs.
The FHS Open Programme supports new programming initiatives and extends existing activities to
reach audiences across Scotland. Priorities for the fund are collaboration between members,
engaging new and more diverse audiences, and extending the geographic reach of screenings and
events.
Further training and funding opportunities will become available throughout 2014–2017. For more
details on the above please visit www.filmhubscotland.com.
ELIGIBILITY FOR MEMBERSHIP
Membership of the Film Hub Scotland Network is open to constituted organisations but not to
individuals. All Scottish cinemas, film festivals, societies and organisations that meet all the
following criteria may become members:
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working with audiences located in Scotland
committed to enabling regular screenings of specialised and independent British film as
defined by the BFI (see definition below)
committed to enhancing opportunities for existing and new audiences to engage with and
learn about specialised and/or independent British film and how it is made (through
education events/projects, directors’ Q&As etc.)
actively seeks community support to improve access to, and involvement with, film culture
for audiences from all parts of Scotland, including those from equality groups and for
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Film Hub Scotland
Membership Agreement
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people from less advantaged backgrounds
committed to high quality presentation of image and sound
believes the audience experience is paramount, trains employees and/or volunteers and
manages its marketing, facilities and event presentations to put the audiences’ experience
first.
BFI DEFINITION OF SPECIALISED FILM
The definition is quite broad, but to put it in context most of the films released in the UK (and
around the world) are big-budget mainstream titles from US studios, and often fairly
straightforward in terms of storytelling, photography and even genre. A ‘specialised’ film is a bit
different.
For example, it could be:
 a foreign language film with subtitles
 a documentary
 a classic or archive film
 hard to pigeonhole
 a film that tells a story in an unconventional, challenging way
 a film that is more experimental with cinematic techniques
 a film that makes you think, that isn’t purely for entertainment.
BFI DEFINITION OF BRITISH FILM
‘British’ films are those that are in receipt of a ‘Certificate of a British Film’ under the terms of
Schedule 1 of the Films Act 1985 as amended i.e. films that pass the UK’s Cultural Test.
‘British’ films do not include films certified as British under any of the UK’s co-production treaties
or under the European Convention on Cinematographic Co-Production for the purposes of
eligibility for this funding.
HOW TO BECOME A MEMBER
Members must agree to do the following:
 Complete the FHS Membership Application Form
 Support the expansion of film choice for audiences
 Participate in Film Hub Scotland activities
 Share relevant data with Film Hub Scotland and BFI
 Promote Hub activity (for example, through your organisation’s website, social media,
enewsletters etc).
Membership of Film Hub Scotland entitles your organisation solely to the benefits outlined in this
Membership Agreement, and does not confer any rights within the management of the project.
www.filmhubscotland.com
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