In this article we hear from Hannah Strong and Hanna Flint, two film journalists and the co-founders of the LFF Critics’ Support Fund – a crowdfunded campaign which they set up this year to help writers from low-income households cover the costs of attending the BFI London Film Festival.
A frustrating economic problem
The BFI London Film Festival is one of the highlights in the capital’s film calendar, attracting some of the brightest film talent from around the world and thousands of cinephiles for a 10-day celebration of cinema. It’s an annual event that both of us look forward to, as lovers of movies but also as journalists, as it’s a vital time of the year for getting commissions and catching up with festival favourites in order to plan coverage for the next 12 months. The festival has maintained an amiable relationship with the press over the years, particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic, where they offered online viewing options which enabled many journalists to cover the festival who might ordinarily be restricted by financial or geographical circumstances.
But when the festival revealed it was increasing its accreditation fee for 2023 from £30 to £52, as well as adding a steeper “Press+” option, the critical community had a lot to say. Social media was flooded with criticism over what seemed like a new press accreditation system based on who could afford which tier of access. The BFI quickly clarified that the £132 “Press+” option was based on feedback, and gave press delegates access to industry events, not preferential treatment. We were assured that the festival still valued press attendance, and the £52 pass would allow access to press screenings and public screenings dependent on availability. Even so, because the BFI charges a base rate of £52 for accreditation, whereas other mainstream festivals including Toronto and Sundance do not, a frustrating economic problem remains.
Journalism – particularly film journalism – is mostly populated by members of the white middle and upper classes. Access to this work also depends on proximity to London because almost all screenings and junkets are held in the capital. Although some studios offer interviews via Zoom and virtual screeners, the reality is that the film industry still remains incredibly localised. As much as the critical landscape has diversified to usher in new voices from across gender, race and intersectional lines, there are still so many who simply cannot afford to pay out of pocket to cover accreditation fees, in addition to the other costs associated with attending a film festival, including but not limited to transport, accommodation, and childcare.
Although we are both based in London and are able to make a living from criticism, we are hyper-aware that for many, this is not the case. Film journalists from low-income households (particularly those based outside the capital) would be unable to benefit from the professional opportunities that covering an event like the London Film Festival would provide. To us, that felt like a gross injustice.
Taking matters into our own hands
Hannah initially posted on the London Critic’s Circle Facebook group in July, asking if there was any intention to release a joint statement about the increase in fees. Hanna commented on that post, suggesting that we take matters into our own hands, and try to provide some community support for other critics. We had a chat and decided to hold a fundraiser, based on the fact we didn’t have much time to organise, and we both knew that institutional change tends to be very slow-moving! We figured that between us, we could rally the local film community together to help get some folks to LFF who might otherwise struggle to find the money.
Initially, we had hoped to raise about £500, which would be enough to cover the accreditation fee for at least ten film writers (plus the GoFundMe admin fees). We were absolutely blown away by the support that the fundraiser received; after the first day, we had raised double that amount. By the close of the fundraiser, a week later, we had raised £4,561 with donations from media pals and critical peers, filmmakers, industry insiders, distributors and a vast array of generous Film Twitter members. It was clear to us that not only was there demand for the LFF Critics’ Support Fund, but that plenty of people wanted it to be a reality and were more than happy to support, whether though donations or amplifying the campaign on social media. We received many emails and messages of support, as well as coverage in Screen International.
With the money secured, it was then a case of working out who exactly would receive the grant. We discussed the best way to do this and decided to set up an application form with simple criteria. Applicants needed to be from or based in the UK/Ireland; be from a low-income household; and have applied for or secured accreditation for the 2023 festival. They also needed to provide a brief statement as to why they qualified for the fund and we engaged fellow film journalists Jane Crowther and Leila Latif to help review all the applications, who were a wonderful sounding board and indispensable to us.
We canvassed for applicants through August and September, receiving around 50 in the end. The biggest challenge we faced was getting people to apply – it can often be difficult to encourage people to feel they deserve funding, so we really tried to emphasise that we wanted to help. Of all the applicants, we determined 40 were eligible for the fund. Once we had our list of candidates, we set about contacting them via email, confirming they were attending the festival and getting their payment information. Then it was just a matter of paying everyone their grant, which turned out to be a frustrating process due to the tribulations of Natwest’s business account procedure, but we got there in the end! We had 28 recipients in total who took us up on the fund, and due to the generosity of our donors, we were able to offer them £152 each – which covered the £52 cost of their accreditation, and £100 towards travel, accommodation or other expenses during the festival.
Seeing the impact
The response we received from the recipients was wonderful. Many said they had been shut out of attending in the past, or thought they wouldn’t be able to attend this year, due to the cost of travelling to London, or taking time off from their job in order to attend press screenings during the day. It became clear to us that the lack of available resources for journalists – particularly those from working-class backgrounds, and even more so within marginalised communities – has a real impact on who feels welcome and included at the BFI London Film Festival. We were so happy we were able to bring 28 people to the festival who otherwise would have really struggled to make it there.
We also received a donation from American Airlines to host a small reception for the recipients and donors, which we held at Curzon Victoria, who were kind enough to waive the hire fee for their mezzanine bar. It was lovely to meet so many of the recipients, and for them to be able to meet each other – everyone was really excited to talk about their highlights of the festival and swap recommendations. It was a really lovely event and highlighted to us just how much the fund’s success meant, not just to us but to everyone that we were able to support.
After the festival, Leila Latif compiled a resource for the recipients by reaching out to colleagues across the film industry, asking them for their advice about working as a critic and attending film festivals. We sent this little handbook of knowledge out to the recipients, along with an email thanking them for their attendance and patience with us, as this was an entirely new project. We hope that we’ll be able to build on the experience of running the fund this year and learning from it, as already quite a few critics have asked if we intend to make this an annual resource.
Formalising the fund
While we would really love to make the LFF Critics Support Fund a yearly resource offering grants to critics to help widen participation in the festival, something that we have discussed a lot over the past few months is that it seems ridiculous that critics (and the wider film community) are having to fund our own attendance at festivals. For some £52 is nothing; for others, it’s half a day’s wages. Film criticism is already an industry that has been massively impacted by the economic downturn in journalism and publishing; frequently writers are underpaid for their services, and many struggle to make ends meet. By charging a steep accreditation fee, the BFI London Film Festival is shutting working-class journalists out, which we are sure is not their intention.
We are very much open to offering our insights to the BFI on how they might be able to offer support to journalists who would otherwise struggle with the costs of attending a film festival. While we recognise that the costs of putting on an event like the London Film Festival are very high in a city as expensive as this, the festival attracts big-name sponsors, donors and guests, and as we have proven, for a relatively small amount of money, we’re able to help out quite a lot of people. It would be great if one of these sponsors would step up and show interest in funding a scheme going forward to help journalists attend the festival – something that both the Sundance and Toronto Film Festivals have done in the past.
The festival does have a Critics’ Mentorship programme, which is aimed at early career writers and gives them mentorship from leading industry professionals throughout LFF, so we know that the BFI understands the importance of critics within the film industry. But we want to highlight that there are barriers to access that remain even if you’re not right at the beginning of your career, and it would be wonderful if there was some support available.
Our experience putting together the LFF Critics’ Support Fund was absolutely a positive one, and it proves that it’s possible to achieve a lot without the backing of a big institution. We were able to pull the fundraiser together in a few weeks, based purely on our own knowledge and ideas, and with the support of our friends and colleagues. Our hope is that we can formalise the fund for 2024, helping out more people, and highlighting the inequality that exists within the industry. We’d love to hold networking events and do more to make the press really feel like a part of the festival.
Every year the BFI London Film Festival shows films from around the world, telling hundreds of stories from all walks of life. We strongly believe that there is a duty to ensure that these stories reach the people who need them the most, and one of the best ways to do this is through supporting the journalists who cover the festival, enabling them to do their jobs without worrying about losing money. Festivals are a time for celebration and connection between filmmakers, journalists, industry professionals and the public; we would love to see this reflected in future editions of the BFI London Film Festival, and in the film industry at large.
Hannah Strong is the Digital Editor at Little White Lies magazine, author of Sofia Coppola: Forever Young and a freelance writer focussing mainly on film, television, and pop culture.
Hanna Flint is a freelance film and TV critic, journalist and broadcaster, author of Strong Female Character, and co-founder of the First Film Club.