Curiosity is the theme of this year’s Film Feels cinema season from the BFI Film Audience Network, made possible with National Lottery funding, which will take place at independent cinemas across the UK following its launch by comedian Joe Lycett at Flatpack Festival 2022.
For the first time since 2018’s inaugural Film Feels, event organisers are also partnering with the Screen Heritage programme Changing Times, under the unifying theme for this year of CURIOUS. This means audiences will have archive film as well as cinematic classics to enjoy as part of the summer’s many online and in-person screenings, events and activities, all of which are designed to connect people through film.
Joe Lycett’s Curiosities with Shaun Keaveny at Birmingham Town Hall will open the Film Feels: Curious season, and will include short films and music videos made by Joe, as well as clips he’s curated. Between these segments, Joe and Shaun will discuss all aspects of Joe’s filmmaking, and he’ll shed some light on the films shown.
CURIOUS was chosen as the theme for this celebration as it’s clear as we emerge from the worst of the pandemic that bringing people together to experience art collectively and learn more about the people and things around us, is more important than ever.
Over the past four years, Film Feels has funded more than 150 projects and more than 1,000 screenings have taken place across the festival seasons nationwide, with around 40 per cent of increasingly diverse audiences each year being new to the events. Previous themes have included obsession, uprising, hopeful and connected, with more than £270,000 given to participating programmers in total so far.
The full nationwide programme for CURIOUS, including all the participating venues and exhibitors, can be seen at filmfeels.co.uk.