Film at the Folk Hall
We are a community cinema in a suburb of York with large numbers of social housing and a local elderly population. Following a study into loneliness by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation we were created to offer a cheaper, more accessible, local alternative to mainstream cinema. Following several grants we now have state of the art projection and play one film a month in a friendly, relaxed and inclusive atmosphere. We show a mix of films to suit all and a regular programme of social impact films.

- Updated:
- 16 April 2018
- Location:
- Yorkshire and Humber
- Sectors:
- Arts, Charity, Community organisations, Recreation, Voluntary, Voluntary Sector
- Local Alliances:
- York Dementia Action Alliance
1. Action Plan
1. The National Dementia Declaration lists seven outcomes that the DAA are seeking to achieve for people with dementia and their carers. How would you describe your organisation’s role in delivering better outcomes for people with dementia and their carers?
We screen a variety of large hollywood and smaller independent movies from all over the world. We also try to screen films with a social impact and have guest speakers to help being the message to life even more for our audiences. We will be playing Still Alice in May which is about a lady with early onset dementia. We also intend to have guest speakers from Inspired Youth and Minds in Motion to talk about the work they do with people with dementia and show a short film. We will take this opportunity to announce joining the Dementia Action Alliance and show our commitment to providing a safe, inclusive place for all.
2. What are the challenges to delivering these outcomes from the perspective of your organisation?
Our challenges are that of engaging and reaching the people we want to. We will be looking at sourcing more volunteers and trying to do a piece of work on engaging harder to reach people. We will also work with the Dementia Action Alliance to raise awareness of our service.
Member website
www.filmfolkhall.com2. Actions
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Screen relevant films with a social impact
We intend to ensure our annual programme of films has a multitude of important and messages relevant to our audience. Previous films have included the Danish Girl when the Joseph Rowntree LGBT alliance attended and speak and I, Daniel Blake when a leading actor from the film attended, we also raised money for the foodbank. We will screen Still Alice and announce our commitment to being a dementia friendly organisation. At this screening we will also showcase some local work by inviting local groups to attend and speak.
- Status:
- Being implemented
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New volunteers for reach out project
We are aware that while advertising inclusivity, there are some people we do not currently reach. In the future we would like to find funds to run a project which will see us reach out into our local area of New Earswick. This would allow us to find new ways to engage with harder to reach groups, to find out what's stopping them attending and if we can do anything to make this happen.
- Status:
- Initial Scoping
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Consider involving Joseph Rowntree / New Earswick Folk Hall in improvements
We will look to work with alliance member Joseph Rowntree Foundation and also New Earswick Folk Hall to utilise their expertise in ensuring the venue is accessible to all and also appealing to harder to reach groups. Working together will assist us in connecting with some of our potential audience we are not currently able to reach.
- Status:
- Initial Scoping