Year in review: C Fylm in 2023

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Nadelik Lowen ha Bledhen Nowydh Da – A Cornish Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from us C Fylm! As we look back on the past twelve months, I would like to share a few highlights of 2023 in our traditional round-up of the year.

This year we had 273 film screenings, taking place in 34 different community venues across Cornwall (and one across the border in Devon!)

Over 6000 of you, our lovely audience and C Fylm members, have supported us and your communities by booking tickets and coming together to watch films, buying raffle tickets, making donations, and drinking countless cups of tea.

I want to take this opportunity to say a huge thank you!

I would also like to thank our brilliant C Fylm club organisers, and their teams of volunteers, who have worked so hard to put films on in their communities. This exceptional group of people are the lifeblood of C Fylm, and without them, none of this would happen.

Thank you again to our audiences and volunteers, our funders, supporters, collaborators, partners and friends for making 2023 another incredible year. Here’s to many more to come!

With appreciation,

Imogen Weatherly
C Fylm Programme Manager


A snapshot of C Fylm’s 2023:

In 2023, our top 5 attended films were:

  1. The Goonies at Mount Pleasant Eco Park – Audience: 81
  2. The Banshees of Inisherin at Calstock Arts – Audience: 65
  3. The BFG at East Pool Mine with Treloweth Primary School – Audience: 62
  4. Enys Men at Geevor Tin Mine & Museum with Cornish Mining World Heritage Sites – Audience: 60
  5. Top Gun: Maverick at Porthtowan Village Hall – Audience: 59

The top 5 most frequently shown films were:

  1. Mrs Harris Goes To Paris – 20 screenings
  2. Fisherman’s Friends: One and All – 15 screenings
  3. Living – 12 screenings
  4. A Man Called Otto – 11 screenings
  5. Top Gun: Maverick – 11 screenings

In April, we were delighted to be the chosen charity for For Everyone Film Festival

A group of students from Falmouth University organised a film festival at The Cornish Bank, Falmouth, with proceeds donated to C Fylm. Talented filmmakers celebrated Cornwall’s natural world in a programme of excellent films, stories and smiles were shared, and excellent raffle prizes were won. Thank you to everyone at F.E Film Fest for supporting C Fylm with this event, and for hosting a fantastic film festival!


In June, we collaborated with Cornish Mining World Heritage Sites on three screenings of Mark Jenkin’s Enys Men

The question and answer discussion after the screening of Enys Men at Geevor Museum.

Enys Men is filmed amongst the now-disused tin mines within the Cornish Mining World Heritage Site in West Penwith, and is influenced by the ‘echoes’ of previous generations and families of miners, and their effect on the land. Audiences had the unique opportunity to watch Enys Men in the very landscapes that inspired the film, as it was screened on the 28th, 29th, and 30th of June at three venues in the Cornish and West Devon Mining World Heritage Site.

Enys Men and its locations inspired conversation about our rich landscape in Cornwall, the successes and decline in our ecology, and how resource use has taken its toll on our landscape.

We talked about Cornish mythology, filmmaking in Cornwall, and 5,000-year-old standing stones in fields next to mining engine houses.


In September, we screened The Nettle Dress at Stones Cafe, Krowji

It was a joy to share this beautiful documentary about the journey of Allan Brown as he harvests, spins and weaves nettles for seven years after the death of his wife, Alex.

Before the film, we ate delicious, comforting soup made by Stones Krowji, learnt how to make nettle pasta with Aneta at 5 Element Cooking, and shared our stories of things that helped us through grief with Claire Stockings-Baker.

Vicki Aimers hosted a sewing activity where we made needle and glasses cases from beautiful face masks generously donated by Seasalt Cornwall, and we had a clothes swap to donate or find treasure in preloved clothes.

Tapestry artist Olga Owczarek brought her loom for us to create a communal weave – we wove threads as we chatted to new friends or took a quiet moment for ourselves. Then together, we watched The Nettle Dress, soaking in the “beautiful modern day fairytale and hymn to the healing power of nature and slow craft.”


In November, C Fylm organisers came together at Krowji

We shared updates, ideas and tasty food which was brought to share, and heard about new releases available to programme, including plenty of Cornish language and Cornish-made films.

Imogen started learning Cornish earlier this year!

Imogen is standing at the front of the group, fellow students in the Cornish language lesson. She is taking a selfie of them all, and they are smiling at the camera.
In September, I joined the Cornish for Creatives class at Krowji, taught by Mark Trevethan. Look out for more Kernewek / Cornish on our screens next year!

Looking ahead to C Fylm in 2024…

C Fylm celebrates our 10th anniversary next year, and we are busy planning some celebrations across our film club network and beyond.

Watch this space (or join our newsletter to be one of the first to hear our news and updates).