Developing young audiences for independent British and international film plays a key role in the BFI’s Screen Culture 2033 strategy and the future of the British film industry. Film Hub London was proud to lead the Young Audiences strategy on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) between 2018-2023 and we will continue to champion young audiences, including families under the new strategy.

We continue to aim to increase the numbers of under 25 year olds watching fantastic films in FAN member venues, to boost confidence in FAN exhibitors in programming for these age groups and by working with partner organisations including Into Film, to expand the number of opportunities for under 25 year olds (young adults, children and families) to engage with a wide range of films.

Whether you’re an experienced FAN exhibitor running a Young Programmers group, already have a thriving screening or activity programme aimed at developing young audiences, if you’re entirely new to working with this age group or indeed are in this age group yourself, we would love to hear from you.

Gathering stories from exhibitors across the UK, we aim to share the successes and the pitfalls with FAN members and will be introducing a range of initiatives to support FAN working together to encourage more young people to love and value the life changing experience that a trip to the cinema offers!

FAN Young Audiences News

The Power of Young Audiences

As cinema admissions rise post COVID the focus has turned to young audiences, with the industry recognising that young people from children and families to teens and young adults are keen to engage with going to the cinema in new and exciting ways. Below, our Young Audience Champion Kirsten Geekie has collated recent news, research, resources and upcoming festival programmes highlighting the growing interest in what Young Audiences are looking for at the cinema.

The Under-25s are turning up

At the annual UK Cinema Association Conference in March, exhibitors reflected on the rise of Under-25s with films such as Dog Man, Wicked, Mufasa: The Lion King through to the new Bridget Jones: Mad About The Boy and horror Nosferatu appealing across the YA demographic.

Talk of affordability and value for money is key to families and young audiences and this summer Cineworld reported success with their £1 family film initiative, the aim being to encourage audiences back to the cinema.

Family Values

Although skewed more towards US audiences, this article shared some fascinating data on how much Hollywood studios value the family audience and how they have invested in big-family friendly titles such as Inside Out 2 and Moana 2 in order to re-build cinema going habits.

Children and families - what do they want?

This blog post on ArtHouse Cinema Hub provides a brilliant deep-dive into a recent report by KIDS Regio (a European initiative that advocates for high-quality Children’s films) and their findings on what children and families look for in film content and cinema experiences.

Scroll below for further resources for working with families and children.

The Letterboxed Generation

In a recent Guardian article, journalist Sinѐad Campbell talked to Curzon, The Watershed and the GFT about the rise in attendance from those aged 18+ sparked by a new-found love of cinema during lockdown and engagement in social media apps like Letterboxed. This has led to young people being more adventurous in their film choices and increasingly keen to watch repertory cinema.

At this year’s TIFF, Donna Langley, Chairwoman of Universal referred to young people as ‘the Letterboxed generation’ who are ‘really engaged in film’. She commented that through Oppenheimer and the excitement around Nolan’s new film The Odyssey (due Summer 2026) they have noticed a growing desire for young audiences to have big screen experiences that they can talk about and share opinions on.

Upcoming Young Audience festival programmes

• 26 - 28 September - Glasgow Youth Film Festival, programmed by young people for everyone! The festival includes screenings of new releases and classics alongside Behind The Scenes workshops.
• 28 Sept - 2 Nov - Cinemagic, Film and Television festival for young people held in Belfast throughout October. The full programme including exciting special previews of films from around the world can be found here.
• 8 - 19 October - BFI London Film Festival’s Family strand is set to bring us 13 new features including the much anticipated Andy Serkis Animal Farm.
• 15 - 18 October - Children’s International Film Festival of Wales, celebrating films made by children.
• 25 Oct - 2nd Nov - Barbican Family Film Week- Celebrating half-term with screenings of new and classic films from around the world, plus events and pre-screening activities.
• 25 Oct - 2 Nov - Discovery Film Festival, based in Dundee it celebrates its 22nd year with screenings, activities and school visits, including young programmer choices and short film programmes.
• 7 - 28 November - Into Film Festival free screenings and events for students aged 5 - 19 in cinemas around the UK.

If you would like any support or advice in running young audience activity do get in touch with FAN Young Audience Champion Kirsten Geekie on kirsten.geekie@filmlondon.org.uk