About
About the Cambridge Film Festival.
The Cambridge Film Festival is presented annually by the Cambridge Film Trust.
The Festival is the second longest-running film festival in the UK, founded in 1977 and presenting the best of UK and independent international cinema for over 40 years.
In autumn each year, the Festival showcases a curated selection of around 100 predominantly independent and specialised films every year and embeds them within a programme of special events, Q&As, and talks.
Born out of the Festival in 2019 and now a genuinely year-round project, the CFF Youth Lab is a young person-led film education initiative focusing on young people's film evaluation and criticism skills, as well as encouraging communication and network building. Youth Lab is open to anyone aged 16-24, specifically addressing participation from under-represented communities and those at risk of social exclusion. The Lab is increasingly central to the work of CFF, with the participants taking on vital and high-profile roles within the annual Festival.
The Festival plays host to CFF Industry Day, a filmmaker-focused day which builds on our previous work and formalises the networking and education aims of the Festival. A day of workshops, panels, and discussions brings together partners from across the sector to benefit the filmmaking and exhibition industries. CFF industry day provides filmmakers and professionals with opportunities to create new relationships and learn new skills.
About the Cambridge Film Trust.
The Cambridge Film Trust (CFT) is a registered charity with a mission to foster film culture and education for the benefit of the public in Cambridge, the Eastern region and throughout the UK.
We believe passionately in the power of film as a medium that can change lives and make the world a better place. It can expose people to new perspectives and ideas, aiding cross-cultural understanding and contributing to community engagement and well-being.
We deliver a year-round broad portfolio of independent and specialised film screenings, special events and tailor-made projects, both in and outdoors, across the UK. These include archive screenings, classic film shows, and silent film screenings with live accompaniment, as well as the prestigious Cambridge Film Festival, one of the most well-respected events in the UK festival calendar.
Our primary objectives are:
- To enrich people's lives and encourage them to see the world in new ways by exposing them to exciting and innovative cinema which has the power to open minds and change people's perspectives in enjoyable, educational and memorable ways;
- To foster high-quality, independent cinema from around the world with an emphasis on diverse storytelling and meaningful on-screen representation of characters, themes and narratives that would not otherwise be accessible;
- To champion the cultural value of film and ensure that everyone has access to it, no matter what their gender, race, age, disability, sexual orientation or social background, specifically to promote the benefits of engagement across disadvantaged and diverse groups, beginning with the very young and supporting those with lower income and at risk of social exclusion.
Throughout the year, the Trust also employs its expertise to advise regional and national organisations. For instance, CFT has played a crucial part in supporting the British Film Institute (BFI), through its role as a Hub Lead Organisation, to promote film activity and build a more resilient cinema sector at a regional and national level.