Popular screen and stage star Blythe Duff will join us as the host of our Celebration of Local Film Festivals at the first ever Your Festival, Your Community event at MacRobert Arts Centre, Stirling on 27 April.
The event will feature the YFYC Awards and will toast the achievements of festivals from the Borders to the Shetlands and acknowledge the invaluable support they receive from their local communities.
“Having spent a 5 week residency at the MacRobert with Scottish Youth Theatre in my teens (I know, not yesterday!), I’m really delighted to be back in Stirling to catch up with the Regional Screen Scotland team and to welcome everyone to an exciting weekend of workshops and events” said Blythe. “I’m even more excited to present the awards which celebrate all the hard work which goes into hosting Scotland’s film festivals. I’m sure there will be a few surprises when we announce the winners from this years nominations. And remember it’s ‘Your Festival Your Community’ so I look forward to joining everyone – from audiences to the dedicated festival programmers and volunteers- at this years Celebration of Local Film Festivals. See you there!”
The YFYC Awards are decided by public nomination in categories including Best Guest, Most Surprising Location, Extra Mile Volunteer, Biggest Surprise Hit Film and Most Supportive Partner. Nominations are open now and are encouraged from all members of the community – from enthusiastic Scottish film fans who want to celebrate the unique film festival on their doorstep to festival producers wanting to honour a supportive business or passionate volunteer. The YFYC Awards are a chance to shout about Scotland’s vibrant regional film festival scene; click here to make your nomination by 23 March.
The event will open the two-day celebration of Scotland’s vibrant local film festival scene, taking place at MacRobert, Stirling on 27 and 28 April.
Following the Friday night awards ceremony, the Saturday will be a day of learning, sharing and networking, with panel events and workshops catering to a wide variety of festivals and asking the question ‘what makes a film festival local?’ Guest speakers include Tanya Karlebach from Cromarty Film Festival; Alison Strauss, Director of the Hippodrome Festival of Silent Cinema in Bo’ness, Matt Lloyd, Director of Glasgow Short Film Festival and Pete Johnson, Head of Operations at INDY Cinema Group.
The event is completely free to attend, with travel and accommodation bursaries to a value of £180 available. It is open to any local film festival organisers in Scotland and the rest of the UK, or people interested in how they can support local film festivals or start their very own. To register to attend click here.
Your Festival, Your Community are supported by Creative Scotland and Film Hub Scotland, part of BFI’s Film Audience Network.
Robert Livingston, Director, Regional Screen Scotland said:
“We are thrilled that Blythe Duff has agreed to host Your Festival, Your Community Awards. She recently starred in Robin Haig’s award-winning short film Hula, which screened to great acclaim at Cromarty Film Festival, Xpo North in Inverness and in the Screen Machine, charming audiences across the Highlands and Islands. Scotland has a fantastic network of film festivals and film fans happening throughout the year, from Dunoon to Shetland and Barra to Bo’ness. That’s why we’re inviting everyone involved with those festivals to help us to celebrate the special people, places and events which make their festival a success, so that we can shout about how great they are. We hope this will also encourage those who’re thinking of starting a festival to recognise just what such an event can do for their own community.”