This Spring, the Cambridge Film Trust has launched a series of monthly screenings at Cambridge Arts Picturehouse cinema called ‘A Film I Love…’

As one of the trustees, I was keen to create a season that would help to promote the festival, which takes place in October, elsewhere throughout the year, and hopefully attract new audiences. With that in mind, we’re trialling a new ‘pay what you can afford’ initiative which has been successful at other film festivals. The intention is to make these screenings accessible and welcoming to people who might not have the budget to go to the cinema regularly.

We’re also keen to offer an additional incentive above and beyond the film itself, so to enhance the film-going experience, we’ve asked well-known people with a connection to Cambridge and the surrounding area to select a film that means a lot to them, and to introduce the film before the screening. The first guest, on March 25th, was the brilliant poet Hollie McNish, who picked Bhaji on the Beach, and citing the fact it’s directed, written and produced by women, starring a cast predominantly made up of women, as the driving force behind her selection.

I loved interviewing Hollie before the screening and I can’t wait to do the same with our next guests, Bobby Seagull, who has chosen The Man Who Knew Infinity on April 29th, and Tim Lihoreau, who has gone for the classic Withnail & I on May 27th.

If you live in the area, come along! We’d love to see you there. Tickets are available in person at the Arts Picturehouse Box Office and you can find out more information here.