Case Study: Leytonstone Loves Film

Summary

Leytonstone Loves Film was a two-day, celebration of film taking place at the end of September 2019. It was commissioned by London Borough of Waltham Forest and produced by the Barbican leading a consortium of film organisations to celebrate International Film culture and explore the unique cinema legacy of the local community and environment. There were two days of family programming, including screenings of multiple shorts and features as well as workshops and activities.
Leytonstone Loves was funded by the London Borough of Waltham Forest and the Barbican, with additional funding and in partnership with Film Hub London.

Project aims

• Leytonstone Loves Film aimed to establish close relationships with the local community offering a fun, inclusive and representative programme to attract young, diverse audiences to film activity

• The programme was to explore the key issues that have shaped the history, politics and people of Leytonstone and how these have shaped film cultures and the cinema industry

• The programme was to highlight the careers and roles within the film-industry through creative workshops and opportunities to experience and learn about all aspects of the cinema industry

• The programme was to support the research and sharing of local cinema history in the area

• The event delivery and programming process were to work in accordance to a sustainability plan that prioritises waste management, sustainable suppliers, plastic reduction, recycling and reuse

Headlines

• 98% of visitors had a very good or good experience both at the venues and at the screenings.

• Almost 99% of visitors said that they would attend a similar event again, with 63% saying that Leytonstone Loves Films increased their appetite for independent British and international films.

• 22% of the audience were under 30 years old.

• The festival successfully achieved around 8000 attendances of screening sessions over the weekend, with around 2000 people attending the outdoor areas and events. This was a massive achievement due to the particularly wet weather leading up to and over the festival.

• One of the panellists at the Future Film Focus event at Leytonstone School received an offer of distribution for their film. Additionally, some of the young people at this event are also now working with partners such as We Are Parable in programming future events.

Films

Barbican Family Film Hub: Bugsy Malone Sing-A-Long (U)
Barbican Family Film Hub: Hansel and Gretel and Other Stories (PG*)
Barbican Family Film Hub: Lotte and the Moonstone Secret (U*)
Barbican Family Film Hub: Moomins and the Comet Chase (U*)
Barbican Family Film Hub: Lotte Reiniger Fairy Tales (U)
Barbican Family Film Hub: Saturday Shorts (U*)
Barbican Family Film Club: Sunday Shorts (U*)
Barbican Family Film Hub: Song Of The Sea (PG)
Barbican Box with George Tomlinson
Cut The Chat: Audience Screening – in cooperation with We Are Parable
The Buster Keaton Picture Show – The Music Halls Project
Best of Short Film Thursdays
Films of East London
Femi Oyeniran and Nicky Slimting Walker In Conversation – in cooperation with We Are Parable
Cut The Chat: Live Podcast Recording – in cooperation with We Are Parable
Flag Wars (12A) + Q&A with Home Waltham Forest
The Gleaners and I (U)
Fireflies (15) – programmed by Barbican Young Programmers
In Conversation with Jammer + 10 Years of Lord of the Mics (15)
Last Frame Smartphone Film Festival
Grime Waltham Forest - The Documentary
On The Streets Where We Live: BlacKkKlansman (15)
The Leytonstone Picture Palace
Mia Hansen-Løve At Home Double Bill
On The Streets Where We Live: You Got Served (PG)
On The Streets Where We Live: John Smith
On The Streets Where We Live: The Tricycle Thief + Other Surprises
Pyaasa (U)
Isle of Dogs (PG)
Paprika (15)
Sunday Shorts Lounge – in cooperation with London’s Screen Archives
Relaxed Screening: Best of WOFFF
Short Film: Dare 2 Dream
Youth Invisible Shorts (15*) – Barbican Young Programmers
Tangerine (15) + Queer DIY cinema panel
Ugwumpiti and other migration stories

Key partnerships

Significant time was taken to meet and consult local stakeholders and partners in the lead up to the Leytonstone Loves Film activities. A project planning team was established made up of over 20 partners, whose programmes represent over 70% of the delivered programme. Partners include: Araba Quashie, Beatroots Creative, Chocolate Films, Dawinder Bansal, Dee Wood, E17Films, Evangelos Trichias, Film London, Forest Film Club, Hassan Vawda, Hitchcock Society, Hooksmith Press, Jake Green, Kieran Akhtar, Last Frame Film Club, Leyton&Stone Designers, Leytonstone Pop up Cinema, Luis Correia, Luna Lounge, Music Halls Project, Rosalind Fowler, Saira Kahn, Shake the High Rd, Shazad Khalid, Stones Throw, Stories & Supper, Stow Film Lounge, The Stone Space, We Are Parable, and Women Over Fifty Film Festival.

Budget in brief

- Income (cash and in kind):
£72,000 Barbican; £70,000 Borough of Culture Grant; £10,750 Film London. No in kind.
- Spending: £152,750
- Film Hub London Subsidy per head: £1.83

What worked

• Turnout was great and surpassed the projected audience numbers with 8000 admissions (and 6000 projected).

• Leytonstone Loves Film managed to establish close relationships with the community and its representatives as the programme offer was developed and delivered with an inclusive range of local stakeholders and community partners.

• 99% of audiences rated their experience at the respective screening as very good or good, with 98% saying that they would attend an event like this again.

What has been difficult

• Achieving over 8,000 attendances of screening sessions over the weekend was a massive achievement due to the particularly wet weather leading up to and over the festival. Although this impacted attendance at the outdoor screening events, the indoor events were very well attended, with most reaching over 50% capacity.

• What made the event special was the location of the screenings in everyday spaces around Leytonstone, these included two pubs and an ex-servicemen’s club that were not fully accessible. The organisers aimed to have as much programming as possible repeated in accessible venues like the Library and Church Hall. They will continue to prioritise accessible spaces going forward.

What you would do differently if you did it again

• They would include more venues further down Leytonstone High Road.

• They would reschedule the event into the autumn and shift the focus from street event to a venue based offer.

• They would spread the event out across a longer period of time to prevent scheduling clashes.

Awareness / Attitudes

• The Leytonstone Loves Film programme included multiple film and music events – including Self Discovery for Social Survival and a documentary on the history of Grime in Waltham Forest, with a conversation with local Grime artist Jammer. These events were aimed at younger audiences and were both well attended.
• The programme included two different screening events featuring work by local filmmakers such as Adam Kossoff, Ian Bourne, Paul Kelly and John Smith from the 80’s and 90’s, engaging with the local history of the M11 link road and the urban and social changes to the area since that construction. The screening of the documentary Flag Wars by Laura Poitras initiated a conversation addressing neighbourhood change and gentrification, forces that also affect areas in Waltham Forest including Leytonstone.

Diversity

• The programme included a varied collection of screenings relevant and representative of a variety of different communities in the borough. Specific examples included relaxed screenings of the Women Over Fifty Film Festival shorts and a screening of classic Bollywood film Pyaasa around which there was substantial engagement with the local South Asian communities.
• 22% of the audiences were under 30 years old.
• Over 15% of audiences were either LGBTQ+ or did not fit into the usual categories and preferred to self-describe.
• Nearly 8% of audiences were disabled. Just as many considered themselves coming from a disadvantaged background.
• Over 20% of the audiences were from mixed heritage, multiple ethnic groups or other non-white backgrounds.

Knowledge & Experience

• The programme highlighted the careers and roles within the film-industry through creative workshops and opportunities to experience and learn about all aspects of the cinema industry. Activities, workshops and masterclasses were programmed to provide an insight into filmmaking at any level. Introductory activities for children and families included exploring 15mm film, different animation techniques and understanding the reverse dolly zoom used by Alfred Hitchcock. There were workshops for those wanting to make films with very small budgets or their smartphone and panels on film financing and how to get into the industry as a young person.
• The programme will support the research and sharing of local cinema history in the area. There were several hyper local projects researching and sharing local cinema history in the area. The Hitchcock society programmed and delivered a walking tour of the local area where Hitchcock was born and put together a display of documents and materials about the filmmaker.

Local artist Dominic Stinton’s exhibition, Leytonstone Picture Palace at The Stone Space, explored the history of cinema up and down Leytonstone High road. The exhibition included a map of all the cinemas found on Leytonstone High Road in the 20th Century, interviews with those who attended these cinemas, as well as a talk and interview with the last projectionist of the Rialto cinema (now a Matalan Carpark). The materials and records of this exhibition will be housed by Vestry House Museum and Archive.

Social Cohesion

• Significant time was taken to meet and consult local stakeholders and partners to develop the Leytonstone Loves Film programme together with a range of local stakeholders and community partners. A project planning team was established made up of over 20 partners, whose programmes represent over 70% of the delivered programme.
• The programme included the work of local filmmakers screened at multiple events over the weekend and provided a platform to showcase the work of filmmakers, industry creatives and enthusiasts in the area. There were approximately 20 locally-made works shown at the festival. Local industry creatives were also included in the programme of talks and panels as experts.
• The programme included a varied collection of screenings relevant and representative of a variety of different communities in the borough. Specific examples included relaxed screenings of the Women Over Fifty Film Festival shorts and a screening of classic Bollywood film Pyaasa around which there was substantial engagement with the local South Asian communities.
• The programme explored the key issues that have shaped the history, politics and people of Leytonstone. The programme included two different screening events featuring work by local filmmakers such as Adam Kossoff, Ian Bourne, Paul Kelly and John Smith from the 80’s and 90’s, engaging with the local history of the M11 link road and the urban and social changes to the area since that construction. The screening of the documentary Flag Wars by Laura Poitras initiated a conversation addressing neighbourhood change and gentrification, forces that also affect areas in Waltham Forest including Leytonstone.

Wellbeing

• There were two days of family programming, including screenings of multiple shorts and features as well as workshops and activities.
• The event delivery and programming process worked in accordance to a sustainability plan that prioritised waste management, sustainable suppliers, plastic reduction, recycling and reuse. Leytonstone Loves Film followed the Low Plastic Zone recommendations for the centre of Leytonstone. All food was served on compostable materials and reusable cups were used for the bars. Most of the festival partners were local either to the area or the broader borough meaning the festival’s travel footprint was very low emission. The primary audience of the festival comprised local residents, contributing to the low emission footprint for audiences.

 

Economy

• Significant time was taken to meet and consult local stakeholders and partners to develop the Leytonstone Loves Film programme together with a range of local stakeholders and community partners. A project planning team was established made up of over 20 partners, whose programmes represent over 70% of the delivered programme.
• One of the panellists at the Future Film Focus event at Leytonstone School received an offer of distribution for their film. Additionally, some of the young people at this event are also now working with partners such as We Are Parable in programming future events.

 

What audiences said

• This is amazing!
  Friendly inclusive good value
  Fun, welcoming, engaging
  Thought provoking
  It was Great
  Excellent, interesting and different
  Fun entertaining absorbing
  Great for kids

What professionals, press and partners said

• ‘Surprised by just how many people and orgs are involved in film in Leytonstone. Brilliant to connect with them through this project. The Barbican was very organised, helpful and supportive. Really enjoyed the whole experience. The equipment the Barbican provided was EXCELLENT. The support and volunteers on the day of the event were fab. And the help with outreach work to connect WOFFF with residential homes has been brilliant. THANK YOU!’
  Nuala O’Sullivan – Women Over Fifty Film Festival

• ‘At the Stone Space Gallery - Leytonstone Picture Palace project visitor numbers were four times the average for a typical weekend. The artist and gallery resolved technical problems in preview weeks, the technical side went well during LLF weekend. Visitor experience was enthusiastic, and comments were highly positive.’
  Chris Davies – The Stone Space

• ‘The Barbican team were great and went above and beyond in helping me put on the night, hiring extra kit and more. The planning logistic issues were more on my side, but there was nothing of a real concern.’
  Simon Singleton – Shake the High Road

Press coverage

• Leytonstone Loves Film was listed in Time Out London, All in London and mentioned on BBC Radio London, as well as local outlets East London & West Essex Guardian and leytonstoner.

  • https://www.timeout.com/london/news/things-to-do-today-in-london-friday-september-27-2019
  • https://www.allinlondon.co.uk/whats-on.php?event=217589
  • https://www.guardian-series.co.uk/leisure/latest/17916232.free-film-festival-celebrates-leytonstone-39-s-cinematic-history/
  • https://www.leytonstoner.london/2019/08/01/leytonstone-loves-film-a-new-moviefest-celebrating-e11/