Following a village survey and then a poll among those interested in a film club, the Black Bourton Film Club had its inaugural opening on 30th April 2025. Prospective members were encouraged to join at £20 per season of nine films. The first season’s programme can be found here: BBFC Season 1. Before the screening a brief AGM was held in which committee members were elected and the Constitution (BBFC Constitution) approved.
For the first season, films were selected to reflect the survey results of 36 contributors detailed in the chart. The nine films are:
- Mainstream film x 1
- Classic film x 1
- Independent film x 6
- Family film x1
Licences to screen any film are either not-for-profit (no public advertising and no charging to view a specific film) or commercial (public advertising and guests can be charged to view a specific film). To keep costs down a decision was taken to screen only one commercial licensed film in the first season; however, complimentary wine, soft drinks and nibbles were served.
The current Committee members are:
- Nick Holmes
- Lawrence Clarke
- Ryszard Nagorski
All enquiries to stmarys.blackbourton@gmail.com.
Q&A
Q: Why do we need a Club?
A: The cost of running a Film Club is not cheap. Apart from the hire of the venue and related costs, the biggest cost is the licence to show a film in public. A commercial licence to screen a film, allowing public advertising and charging at the door, can cost more than £104 per film. However, because the venue is a church we can secure an annual licence from a specialist provider for £146 per year for any number of films from distributors covered by the licence, provided that we do not advertise the films in public and we do not charge people admission to view a film – in other words a not-for-profit licence. This is why we need a Club, where the annual membership fee allows you to be a member and have free access to any number of films shown in a season. A lot of the films we would like to show will not be covered by the not-for-profit licence, which is why we need to have funds available to cover the one-off commercial licences.
Q: Can guests attend a film?
A: The Club welcomes guests to any film. For commercial screenings (as in the first inaugural show on 30th April) the cost is £5 per film. We’d obviously prefer guests to take out membership, giving them access to all 9 films in the season at only £20. Membership provides a more secure footing for the Club. For not-for-profit screenings we recommend that guests make a donation of £5 towards St Mary’s Fabric Fund.
Q: Who runs the Club?
A: For the Club to run efficiently and effectively it needs a Committee, a Constitution and a bank account. At the first AGM, all those present as members nominated and elected committee members and approved the Constitution. Any member can be proposed to sit on the Committee. In short, the Club is run by its members through the Committee.
Q: How are the films selected?
A: For this first season the films were selected based on the survey responded to by 36 prospective members. In future the Committee will select the following season’s films. The selection will be based on feedback from members on the previous season’s offerings. This feedback will be managed in a members-only WhatsApp group. Subject to approval from the membership, it is envisaged that the screening in December will be a family Christmas film, free to all members’ families and to Black Bourton’s residents.