Ffilm Cymru Wales has awarded more than £77,000 to 13 independent cinemas, film festivals and community pop-up screenings across Wales.
With National Lottery funding delegated by the Arts Council of Wales, Ffilm Cymru Wales provides support to independent film exhibitors to entertain and inspire people throughout the nation with a greater choice of films.
In the first round of 2025-26, Ffilm Cymru Wales funded five film festivals and an independent cinema, including Tywyn’s The Magic Lantern cinema, which recently won Cinema of the Year at the British Independent Film Awards.
In their second round of Film Exhibitor Funding for 2025-26, Ffilm Cymru Wales supported:
ADRA: Screendance Festival Wales
Curated and managed by Kokoro Arts, a Cardiff-based movement and digital arts organisation producing interdisciplinary projects that connect dance, film, and community, the ADRA Screendance Festival Wales will celebrate dance and movement on screen. Taking place in April 2026 at The Riverfront Theatre, Newport, the festival will present a selection of Welsh and international screendance films alongside talks and awards, aiming to connect the dance, film, and visual arts communities, and introducing new audiences to the creative potential of movement on screen.
Afan Valley Community Cinema For All
This community pop-up cinema provides free accessible film experiences for children and adults across three local venues: Gwynfi Miners Community Hall, Glyncorrwg Noddfa, and Cymmer Afan Community Library. As well as public screenings for everyone, the team also host exclusive events for schools and residential care homes.
Cardiff Community Cinema Club
Following a successful pilot programme in 2025, which featured a variety of events from Palestinian drama to vintage Welsh-language horror, Cardiff Community Cinema Club will expand their offer to two streams of screenings in venues across the city: monthly screenings of community-picked films followed by discussions at The Canopi, and weekly mini-screenings of public domain films at the Aubergine Café in the heart of Cardiff’s student Cathays area.
CellB: Ffilmiau i Pawb
Ffilmiau i Pawb is a year-long programme to celebrate Blaenau Ffestiniog cinema CellB’s 10th anniversary. CellB will deliver a rich programme of independent films presented weekly and bilingually, including special wraparound events such as filmmaker Q&As, themed discussions, workshops and family activities. The project will culminate with CellB’s 10th birthday celebration in July 2026 – a weekend of film and music events hosted by homegrown hero Rhys Ifans.
Chapter Arts Centre
Cardiff’s cultural and creative hub will deliver a diverse cinema programme, screening over 250 feature films, presenting 25 added value events such as Q&As and discussions, and hosting 6 international film festivals. Many screenings will be accessible for D/deaf and disabled people, and the cinema will work to improve provision for Welsh speakers.
FOCUS Wales Film Festival
This year, Wrexham’s FOCUS Wales Film Festival will expand to a three-day event including a new feature film competition and two new short film strands showcasing Celtic film. As well as hosting across two screens at Coleg Cambria, the festival will partner with Wrexham Odeon, the most popular multiplex cinema in the region.
Hwb y Gors: Environmental Film
Hwb y Gors is a new vibrant low-carbon hub for creativity, learning and community wellbeing located in a refurbished primary school in the Amman Valley, which has been retrofitted with solar panels, ground source heating and rainwater harvesting. Their 12-month pilot programme of curated film screenings will focus on environmental themes, such as biodiversity, sustainability, habitat loss, animal welfare and activism, and will be followed by a facilitated discussion with guest speakers.
Riverfront Community Cinema
Following a successful pilot in 2025, Newport’s multi-arts venue The Riverfront will deepen and extend their community-led cinema programme with three new strands: Film for Health & Wellbeing, Film for Social Inclusion, and Film for Cultural Inclusion. The arts centre will collaborate with local and national organisations to co-curate film programmes that reflect community stories, create accessible spaces, and enhance engagement with wraparound activities.
Torch Theatre: Community Curations
Milford Haven’s arts centre will build on last year’s successful Warm Spaces project, hosting workshops with local communities to create a programme of Welsh language films and those made by a diverse range of filmmakers. Community Curations will screen 12 feature films and three shorts, with post show conversations, between February and April.
Urban Circle: Circle Cinema
Circle is Urban Circle’s new independent arts venue in Newport, created as a community café, multicultural hub and creative skills space. Their year-long programme of independent film screenings throughout 2026 will offer cinema in a welcoming, low-cost community setting that supports intergenerational audiences and reflects the city’s diversity. Circle Cinema will deliver four themed screening nights every month in partnership with local organisations, including Environmental Sustainability, Indie Film, Afrocentric Film, and Women’s Cinema with an on-site creche.
Urban HQ: Love Is Film Festival
Urban HQ is a social enterprise and innovation hub housing a cafe, collaborative workspace, office and event space, which has previously hosted Swansea Arts Weekend events and Ffilm Cymru Wales’ Skills Hub Swansea. Their inaugural pop-up film festival will be based on the multi-faceted theme of love, and will include Welsh, classic, independent and world cinema exploring the entire spectrum of romantic meaning and attachment.
Watch-Africa: Express Your Africa
The 12th edition of Watch-Africa Film Festival will celebrate the creativity, diversity, and innovation of African storytelling through cinema. Hosted at venues across Cardiff, Watch-Africa will showcase films from the African continent and diaspora, offering audiences a vibrant experience of African culture, identity, and expression.
Welfare Ystradgynlais: Screen Social 2
A second year of funding from Ffilm Cymru Wales will help Ystradgynlais’ The Welfare develop their Screen Social programme, offering free tickets to relaxed screenings for audiences with additional needs. The screenings feature a variety of adjustments, including low lighting, reduced sound volume, and space for babies to relax on blankets, and offer the opportunity to stay for longer after the film to increase social impact.
Ffilm Cymru Wales awarded two of the successful projects additional uplift dedicated to improving their environmental sustainability. CellB will implement a Green Cinema Initiative to eliminate disposable food and drink packaging, and install a garden compost bin for organic waste. The Welfare in Ystradgynlais will produce a short film with a local youth club, who have recently received training from Screen Alliance Wales as part of the venue’s Arts & Activism in the Heart of the Coalfields project, demonstrating how customers can recycle their waste at the end of the screening.
Ffilm Cymru Wales’ Audience Executive Georgina Morgan said:
“Many exhibitors in Wales remain at the heart of their communities, connecting underserved audiences with films that champion inclusivity, showcase local stories, and celebrate the Welsh language. Having visited many exhibitors in the last year, it is amazing to see the work being undertaken in the communities, and we look forward to continuing our support as they grow and develop their audiences within an ever-evolving sector.
“We are also keen to see exhibitors and festivals take meaningful action to reduce their environmental impact as part of our commitment to environmental sustainability. We are proud to support a number of these environmental efforts through the introduction of a Sustainability Top-Up Fund this year, and look forward to further work in this area.”
Details of future film exhibitor funding opportunities will be released in the spring.
