As we all know these are difficult times for the film exhibition sector; we are facing unprecedented challenges. To understand the immediate impact and to coordinate our efforts to best meet the needs of the sector, Screen Scotland, Regional Screen Scotland and Film Hub Scotland have been working together to gather information through a co-designed survey about the impact of Coronavirus/COVID-19 on the sector.
The purpose is to help us understand and identify pressing issues, and to work together and with partners to create measures to help address those of greatest concern. We’ve now been able to collect and analyse the responses and can share the headlines in this month’s update below. You can also download the full survey report as a PDF…
Survey Respondents
The survey was issued to Regional Screen Scotland A Cinema Near You participants and exhibitors’ database and Film Hub Scotland members on 3 April 2020 – staying open for responses for a period of two weeks.
We’d like to thank everyone who took the time to complete the survey.
A total of 73 respondents based in 27 of Scotland’s 32 local authorities responded to the survey overall. The majority of respondents were representatives of community cinemas (37% of all respondents), with film festivals (14%), multi-arts venues (11%) and independent cinemas (10% profit and 10% non-profit) also figuring highly. Other exhibitors represented were film clubs, film collectives and multiplexes.
25% of the total cinema exhibition sector in Scotland responded
Summary of Findings
Please do feel free to view more detailed data and analysis in the full survey report.
Of all the survey respondents, 82% rated COVID-19 as highly or severely impacting their operations currently
Exhibitors who operate a building (i.e. multi-arts venues and independent cinemas) were those most impacted by COVID-19. These exhibitors were also most likely to be concerned about their staff and about audience confidence in returning to cinemas once the immediate danger from the crisis has passed. They also required more in terms of clarity from Government on the current situation and information from distributors in comparison to other exhibitors.
46% of the independent cinema exhibition sector in Scotland, both for-profit and not-for-profit cinemas and multi-arts venues, responded to the survey – reporting that they are in immediate need of funds
Community cinemas, i.e. those run by voluntary groups in local venues and which are primarily DVD-based, requested the least support both now and going forward (perhaps with many taking a pre-existing pause in their operations over the summer), though their most significant concerns were around the long-term viability of their operations and resuming their activity. 52% of community cinemas were providing any sort of online content for their audiences.
The majority of community cinemas who responded to the survey are concerned about their long-term viability, given the current crisis
Film festivals’ biggest concerns were around forward planning and funding, with only a few expressing specific concerns surrounding audience confidence in returning to cinemas.
100% of the film festivals who responded were providing (mostly accessible) online content currently
Going Forward
Film festivals were most likely to need guidance and advice now and going forward, whereas multi-arts venues and independent cinemas (both profit and not-for-profit) felt they most needed funds primarily now, with not-for-profit cinemas identifying the need for guidance going forward and for-profit cinemas specifically highlighting the primary future need for support in rebuilding audiences, as well as the need for additional marketing support in doing so.
Going forward, we’re continuing to listen and talk to the sector and with these hugely helpful responses are having ongoing discussions with Screen Scotland and Film Hub Scotland about how best to respond to these findings.
In the meantime, if you’d like to talk to the RSS team about the survey or particular concerns you have about the impact of Covid-19, please contact us:
Robert Livingston, Director: robert@regionalscreenscotland.org
Partnerships Coordinators (Maternity Cover):
Morvern Cunningham – morvern@regionalscreenscotland.org
Shona Thomson – shona@regionalscreenscotland.org