Film Hub Wales Members attended Hub Helo with help from FHW training bursaries.
Hub Helo is FHW’s annual event for Hub members. It offers an opportunity to catch up with exhibition colleagues and find inspiration in one another’s projects, through bitesize interactive sessions. Hub Helo in 2025 also included a preview screening of Madfabulous after the sessions.
The event took place at Y Muni with over 20 venues in attendance from across Wales. With help from Hub training bursaries, Hazel from Arts Alive / Flicks in the Sticks, Gareth from Aberystwyth Arts Centre, Akulah from Sheba Soul Ensemble and Laura from Volcano Theatre were all able to make the journey to Pontypridd.
Here’s what they told us about the experience:
“Rural cinema can sometimes feel isolated, so sharing experiences and solutions – from programming to audience development – provides a fresh perspective.” – Flicks in the Sticks
“The Hub Helo event came at the perfect moment in time, where we were contemplating putting together an audience engagement scheme in our venue… including a film screening made the event even more worthwhile… Given that people are travelling from all over Wales to attend these FHW events, additional activity like this maximizes the potential for programmers to come away with extra knowledge.” – Aberystwyth Arts Centre
Hub Helo offers an opportunity for funded projects to share what worked well, and what was challenging, with their peers. For venues like Volcano Theatre who are new community and independent cinema: “this was an invaluable opportunity to connect with others in the sector and to learn more about all aspects of screening.”
The event also brings Wales-wide exhibitors together to network, bounce ideas off one another and find out about the ups and downs of cinema that year: “the opportunity for networking was really great and Sheba developed some brilliant contacts which we intend to further over the coming months.” – Sheba Soul Ensemble
“So very frequently we can find ourselves in our own “silo”, doing what we know works, without having the inspiration from others and seeing what different venues are doing. It’s so rewarding hearing what other hub members are up to, and satisfying that our own venue can benefit from fresh ideas and inspiration.” – Aberystwyth Arts Centre
“We came away with new ideas and enthusiasm, a long list of films we’d love to programme, cinemas we’d like to visit and funding opportunities to explore. We are grateful for the bursary that allowed us to be able to send two members of staff to this event.” – Volcano Theatre
Hazel, Akulah, Gareth and Laura were able to attend Hub Helo in Pontypridd with the support of Film Hub Wales’ Bursary scheme. If you want to attend a meeting, course or event that would benefit your organisation and develop audiences but the costs are prohibitive, you can apply for support here.
