Spotlight Sunderland Public Consultation Campaign

Salary: £5000 fee (+ VAT)

Film Hub North is looking for someone to manage a Public Consultation Campaign for the Spotlight Sunderland project.

About Spotlight Sunderland

Spotlight Sunderland is one of eight areas in the UK where the Film Audience Network is focusing its activities for the next three years (to March 2026).

Identified as areas with little to no independent cinema provision, Sunderland was selected after pilot activity funded by Film Hub North started in late 2019 to develop an independent cinema culture. The project, Filmhouse Sunderland, was based at the Empire Cinema in Sunderland and had begun to build a loyal audience but the activity was forced to end early by the pandemic and first lockdown.

Spotlight Sunderland started in March 2023 and was planned to begin again at the Empire Cinema which unfortunately closed in July 2023. There is now no dedicated cinema in Sunderland, although the site is under discussion between a number of cinema operators and the landlord Sunderland City Council.

At the same time, huge investment in film and television production is being planned and delivered in and around Sunderland, including Crown Works Studios and attendant tech industries, which aims to attract more production to the region but the city is currently without a dedicated cinema as part of the cultural offer for incoming talent and filmmakers.

Spotlight Sunderland builds on existing film exhibition activity including:

• the annual Sunderland Shorts Film Festival: about to launch its ninth edition and a move back to May 2024, Sunderland Shorts is a global top 100 festival on Film Freeway
• Arts Centre Washington runs a monthly repertory and cultural film programme, in which FHN has invested to test a wider programme
• The Fire Station has presented film events with filmmaker and talent panels
  pop-up screenings at different venues around the city, including Pop Recs, 17Nineteen and Sunderland Museum & Winter Gardens

Public Consultation Campaign

Marketing for Spotlight Sunderland was planned from the very start but with the closure of the Empire, actual programme delivery did not start until late 2023. The Spotlight Sunderland Advisory Board, consisting of representatives from Sunderland cultural organisation and North East film industry specialists, suggested that a Public Consultation Campaign could do several things:

• establish the Spotlight Sunderland programme, its activities to date and future potential
• gather audience intelligence and demand from Sunderland audiences for cinema
  develop relationships with relevant community organisations and their communities
• gather evidence for lobbying to strategic partners and potential partners, such as local and national government

This brief lays out the broad brushstrokes of what the Public Consultation Campaign may explore and what we hope it might achieve:

• the campaign needs to be very public: FHN does not usually talk directly to the public as our work focuses on almost 350 member film exhibitors across the North East, North West and Yorkshire; but this campaign is directed at Sunderland district’s 280,000 or so residents, and we are aiming for 5000 responses
• it needs to ask questions about cultural film, that is, British, independent and international films, documentary, experimental, screen heritage and archive films, as the Film Audience Network supports the development of film exhibition of non-mainstream film content, and in particular the communal experience of filmgoing
• it needs to look at the whole district, not just the city centre: about 20% of our members across the North are film societies or community cinemas, based in the heart of their communities, often rural but sometimes coastal or in smaller towns where transport links are not as developed
• it needs to consult with a wide range of audiences, from young to old, the culturally engaged and the unengaged, urban and rural communities, people from areas of deprivation or facing socio-economic barriers
• it needs to open conversations around all kinds of film exhibition, not just in dedicated cinema spaces, but also festivals and pop-ups, community and members-only spaces, multi-artform venues and non-cultural spaces

Audience segments

The campaign is expected to include responses from:

• Sunderland residents, including cinemagoing audiences and non-audiences
• Sunderland residents who attend arts activities and events, as well as non-attenders
  families, young people and students in Sunderland
• regional filmmakers and creatives

Results of the Public Consultation Campaign

Reporting

On completion of the Public Consultation Campaign, the consultant will submit a written report of findings, including assumptions, challenges and opportunities, and which needs to be clear, manageable and user-friendly. Elements of the report may be published or shared in order to disseminate useful information and develop best practice more widely. These excerpts may be published and shared anonymously unless relevant individuals give consent to use their name and organisation details (if relevant).

Outcomes from the Public Consultation Campaign include:

• a body of data on Sunderland’s potential and exisitng audiences, their interest in and awareness of film, particularly cultural film, and what demand might exist for cultural film in the district
• awareness of Spotlight Sunderland and its opportunities for Sunderland audiences, film exhibitors and the film industry
• relationships with relevant community organisations best placed to deliver community cinema screenings
• a body of evidence for lobbying local and national government for cinema provision in Sunderland

Timescale

We anticipate the project will begin in April 2024 and end in June 2024, with a report expected by the end of July 2024.

How to apply

Budget

This project is being funded by Film Hub North. A maximum of £5000 (plus VAT) has been allocated to cover the project fee which will include research, planning, meetings, travel, mailings, stationery and other materials and resources as required.

Proposals should itemise daily or hourly rates and demonstrate how many days or hours each consultant or other team member will spend on the project and what each person’s key responsibilities will be.

Submitting a proposal

The closing date for proposals is 5pm on Friday 15 March 2024. The successful consultant will be notified by Friday 22 March 2024. We will be unable to provide feedback on unsuccessful proposals.

Respondents are asked to outline:

• their proposed methodology, budget and timetable
• their relevant skills and experience
• details of the team members including their relevant experience and professional qualifications
• proof of professional indemnity insurance
• contact details of two references

Proposals should be emailed to info@filmhubnorth.org.uk, and additional information requests should also be sent to this address, for the attention of Huttson Lo, Partnerships Manager.

Context

Film Hub North is a sector development organisation supporting film culture in the North of England. Part of the BFI’s Film Audience Network, FHN is a partnership between HOME in Manchester and Showroom Workstation in Sheffield, and funded through BFI National Lottery funding. With 350 members across the North East, the North West and Yorkshire, member organisations range from film societies and community cinemas, festivals and pop-ups, to single screen independent cinemas and multi-artform venues.

Film culture in this instance focuses on cultural film, that is, non-mainstream film content in communal settings, and includes British, international and independent films, documentary, experimental, screen heritage and archive films. Online broadcast and distribution is also considered where appropriate for relevant audiences, but the priority is on the communal experience of film exhibition.

The closing date for this position is 15/03/2024 at 17:00