About

Bath Film Festival was established in 1991 by members of Bath Film Society, when David Puttnam became our Honorary President providing an introduction for the first festival brochure.

In 1992, with funding from the local authority and other arts bodies, we saw a great expansion of our programme, including participatory workshops and other special events. Particularly successful were the live music accompaniments to silent cinema, which have featured in the programme ever since.

The then Bath-based film maker Ken Loach and musician Peter Gabriel became Patrons of the festival in 1993. Ken Loach has since frequently attended to introduce his latest film. In 1994 the festival settled down to occupy an October / November niche.

In 1997 we were registered as a non profit-distributing limited company and in May 2000 we were registered as a charitable organisation by the Charity Commission.

Conscious of the limitations of a once-a-year event, we began exploring ways of extending the festival's activities with an outreach programme. This was launched in September 2001, utilising portable equipment to take the cinema experience out to communities which have no immediate access to film.

2003 saw our first venture into open-air cinema with our presentation, in partnership with the Holburne Museum, of Steven Spielberg's ET - The Extra-Terrestrial. 600 people turned up to enjoy the experience, picnicking on the lawn before the start of the film .

In 2004 as 'Project!' and in collaboration with MediaArt Bath and Suited + Booted Community Video, we applied successfully to the UK Film Council for funds to provide an integrated digital cinema facility, which has enabled us to greatly expand outreach and partnership working. We are now able to show films on a big screen in almost any environment and for just about any audience imaginable, and have been instrumental in establishing new film societies in Keynsham and Thornbury.

In 17 years we have screened about 650 films most of which would never have made it to Bath were it not for the festival's work. Though we remain at heart a community oriented event, we still seek to establish Bath as an nationally recognised film festival.

Honorary President
Prof. Sir Christopher Frayling

Festival Patrons
Jim Broadbent, Peter Gabriel, Ken Loach, Amanda Nevill, Pawel Pawlikowski, Thelma Schoonmaker, Stephen Woolley

Festival Mentor Group
Ed Fletcher, Stephen Frears, Ken Loach, Simon Relph, Paul Weiland, Stephen Woolley

Trustees
Piers Bizony, Mary Burton, Kat Byles, Barbara Carroll, Nick Cunningham, Stuart Fiddes, Alastair Goolden, Rachel Harris, Mike Johnston, Philip Raby

Chair of Trustees
Philip Raby

Management Board
Annie Beardsley, Alex Chapman, Charlotte Eager, Elena Hill, Nigel Locker, Victoria Trachy

Events Manager
Chris Baker

Administrator
Lynne Locker

Documentary Curator
Alex Chapman

Marketing and Publicity
Charlotte Eager

Technical Officer
Alastair Goolden

Volunteer Manager
Victoria Trachy

Brochure Design
TheGroupofSeven.co.uk

Film Booker
Emily Richardson

Brochure copy
Chris Baker, Alex Chapman, Alastair Goolden, Elspeth Hinde, Gemma James, Phil Raby,Victoria Trachy

Registered Office
2nd Floor, Abbey Chambers, Kingston Parade, Bath BA1 1LY
Tel / Fax: 01225 401149

Registered in the UK no. 3400371
Registered Charity no. 1080952