Community Cinema

In 1988, two students living and studying in Liverpool recognised the lack of spaces for showing artist film and video in the city. Built on an ethos of collaboration, experimentation and knowledge sharing, they started to organise screenings in venues and hidden locations across Liverpool and so the story of FACT began.

Over three decades later, we continue to champion the importance of moving image as an artform and ensure there are open and accessible spaces where film can be enjoyed by all.

Together, we can rethink what a cinema can be - immersive, interactive and extraordinary - a magical place where we gather in the dark to learn new perspectives and discover untold stories from the characters on screen, the people behind the camera and our fellow film lovers around us.

Community Cinema is a space and programme at FACT for filmmakers, artists, grassroots organisers and community organisations to screen films and recoup venue hire costs by selling tickets at a price point of your choosing. Presented in The Box, our ground floor cinema space, Community Cinema screenings can welcome up to 50 guests. We want to support your screening by sharing our resources and expertise, this includes:

Event Support

Up to 3.5 hours in The Box, Mondays - Wednesdays anytime, and Thursdays and Fridays until 6pm
Setting up the The Box for your screening event
Testing your film or content before the event (only if received no later than 14 days prior to the event date)
Providing you with a technician and usher for the event
Administrative guidance for film licensing, screening fees and certification

Marketing & Promotion

We will assist in promoting your screening through a combination of digital and print channels tailored to reach your target audience. Providing details about your screening at least 8 weeks in advance allows us to:

Create a dedicated webpage on the FACT website for your screening.
Sell tickets via our box office.
Include your screening in the film listings on the FACT website, which attracts over 1.3 million visitors annually.
Where appropriate and timely, feature your screening in our newsletter, which is sent to more than 20,000 subscribers.
Promote your screening through FACT’s social media channels to maximise visibility and reach your intended audience.
After the event, we will transfer the ticket sales proceeds to you via BACS (minus customer booking fees) once we receive your invoice.

The Box Liverpool Cinema Hire Boutique Screen

Who can become a Community Cinema partner?

Independent filmmakers
Artists and artist collectives
Charities or community interest companies (CICs)
Members of LARC (Liverpool Arts Regeneration Consortium) or COoL (Creative Organisations of Liverpool)
Film clubs or societies

If you are not eligible to become a Community Cinema partner but are interested in hiring our cinema, please contact venuehire@fact.co.uk. Your hire will help to support our Community Cinema and ensure we can keep running costs to a minimum. You can also choose to pay it forward and support Community Cinema further by making a donation during your hire.

How much does it cost to screen a film in the Community Cinema?

FACT is a charity and funded by Arts Council England and Liverpool City Council. Everything we do is not-for-profit and the cost for screening a film simply covers our team’s time to ensure your screening is set up and supported from start to end.

Individual artist and filmmaker: £300

Organisation, charity or society: £400

*Corporate: Price on request

Our costs are fixed to promote fairness and transparency for our community. However, we understand that this cost is not affordable to all and where possible, we raise additional funds through Corporate Cinema hire to offer reduced rates to Community Cinema partners.

*If you would like to discuss Corporate Cinema hire further, please contact venuehire@fact.co.uk.