Chair's Annual Report 2022-2023
As we have moved our AGM to early January to fit with the new timetable for the accounts to be audited, this report covers the last 18 months. We started out very much still under the thrall of Covid, with most of the world still not willing to venture out too much or not at all. This left us with small audiences, and no brochure, still booking films a few weeks at a time. This last season we have risked printing a brochure again.
The year ending last April saw our audiences climb slightly to a total of 1760, the largest audience being 119 with several up towards the hundred mark, though we still averaged only 65. The Film Festival was, likewise, a success, though the numbers were still down on pre-covid.
Though not a club event, many members helped Carol Rennie in her amazingly successful first Chinese Film Festival at the Alhambra last February. Long may this run; thank you Carol!
Since last September, we took the decision to select a whole season's films at once and to print a brochure again to try to aid advertising, which also enabled us to give members a vote on some of the films we showed, with around half the final programme being decided by the vote. The audience size has crept up a bit more - the average for the season being 76 as we go to print here. We continued with the 'pre-film drinks' as started last season, which has had some success drawing in people to mix before the film. We also continued the 'post-film discussions' directly after the film, though this seems to have had dwindling support.
The other major change is that the Alhambra is now running our membership online which, after a rocky start, seems to work well. The payment system then automatically gives members rates for those who have joined.
The last change was organisational; we took the decision to make the committee much smaller, basically just the 'officers', leaving most of the weekly jobs to volunteers. We hoped this might encourage more people to get involved if they did not have to put up with attending committee meetings! So far, this has seemed successful in that we have had no shortage of volunteers; thank you to all who have helped keep our club running, and to those who had been on the committee for some time... and are now free to volunteer. I should mention specifically here Robert Royall who has been our projectionist for more years than I have been coming and Steve Skelton who volunteered and has now taken over the role. Thank you both.
The other good news from the year is that, once again, we are still in good financial position having managed our spending in line with our income... as we go to press, we are looking forward to the start of the club's 25th year and the 24th Keswick Film Festival.
I will finish with my usual thanks to the committee, now much smaller; never have so many owed so much to so few...
Vaughan Ames, Chair