Chertsey Film Society - Film Links
Links (click on the images) to various resources for anyone interested in particular films, and how & where film is shown by film societies, independent cinemas and mixed arts venues. We will probably be adding a few more over time.
There are a number of national & regional bodies which support both film-making and film exhibition in the UK, and the funding role which used to be that of the UK Film Council has now been taken up by the British Film Institute (BFI). Some of the sites we link to have much more comprehensive sets of links than those we suggest here.
Film Information
The Internet Movie Database A great source of facts and figures for practically all known films, though details may be sparse on seriously old stuff and more obscure foreign films. Most of the content is contributed by ordinary users of the site, and you can join up as well - rate the films, contribute your own reviews and engage in bulletin board exchanges about any aspect of a particular film.
BFI 'Explore Film' The British Film Institute (BFI) is the UK's main national film body, responsible for maintaining our national film archive and providing a comprehensive information service covering a whole range of film topics. It produces various publications about film, special film collections on DVD, and the excellent monthly magazine 'Sight & Sound', which can also be accessed online.
Guardian.co.uk Film A really good value site which combines shortened versions of recent film reviews from 'The Observer' (Mark Kermode) and 'The Guardian' (Peter Bradshaw), plus lots of other film news that is usually bang-up-to-date or offers some other interesting angles.
Rotten Tomatoes Similar in some ways to the IMDB, with critic's ratings shown by its 'Tomatometer', but with reviews which link to sites all over the world (although North America predominates).
Film Organisations
We have already mentioned the British Film Institute, from whom we hire many of the films we show, but here are some of the others which are of particular significance to film societies -
'Cinema For All' (formerly the British Federation of Film Societies) - of which we are a member. Provides advice & support on a variety of topics of concern to film societies, and also operates a booking scheme through which some of our films are sourced. It also has regional groups. Those more distant from London are more active than ours (the 'South East'), and the South West Group is particularly strong, with its own website that is well worth a look.
Independent Cinema Office The ICO has a broader remit than 'Cinema For All', extending to independent commercial cinemas and training for film industry professionals, but also helps film societies. Its twice-yearly advance screening days of forthcoming films are particularly helpful to us, and (like the BFI & Cinema For All) we source some films through them.
The British Film Institute Having taken over the UK Film Council's role in funding film making the BFI is now the foremost film organisation in the country. Apart from its archival and information roles referred to above, it is also active in the distribution and exhibition (BFI Southbank & BFI Imax) of films.
Invaluable 'One-Man' Sites
There used to be two excellent sites run by individuals that offered a wealth of information (and lots more links!) - one has now sadly been retired, but Peter Knight's quirky but wonderfully informative site contimues.
The Unofficial UK Film Societies website run by Dave Watterson, used to be a great source of information with comprehensive coverage of film societies nationwide, but having encouraged many societies (including us!) to develop their own websites, Dave bowed out a couple of years ago. We still miss the great contribution he made.
The Mad Cornish Projectionist is the site of freelance professional projectionist Peter Knight. Extremely strong on all technical matters relating to projection (film & digital), and has probably the most comprehensive set of links to be found on any film-related website.
If you know of any other 'one-man' sites that we should be linking to, please let us know by emailing - webmaster@chertseyfilm.org.uk
Other Film Societies
The film society movement encourages co-operation between neighbouring societies, and we have reciprocal admission arrangements with Slough and Woking.
Bracknell Film Society show their films at the South Hill Park Arts Centre (see also 'Arts Centre' venues below) on the south side of Bracknell. A very long established (50 years +) society run by a team with great knowledge and enthusiasm.
Richmond Film Society - another very long established society (now in its 53rd Season) showing films at St Mary's University College in Twickenham.
Slough Co-operative Film Society - A 60+ years society which now shows films regularly in the West Wing Arts Centre in Slough and also contributes special film events which form part of the Windsor Fringe Festival.
Walton & Weybridge Film Society - another long established society (just turned 50). After a few seasons at the Cleves School in Oatlands, they have now moved to the Cecil Hepworth Playhouse near Walton Bridge.
Woking's New Cinema Club - the only film society in the area to go for a more imaginative name. Winner of several BFFS awards, including 'Film Society of the Year', and shows films regularly in Mayford Village Hall on the south side of Woking.
Arts Centres
The Electric Theatre in Guildford shows films in occasional 'festivals' (programmes condensed into a week or two), the most recent of which was in September 2016. Check the downloadable Electric Theatre programme for details of any upcoming ones.
The Firestation arts centre in Windsor (which replaced the old Windsor Arts Centre) shows fewer films than it used to, but still has films for children on some Saturdays and special film events occasionally.
The Riverhouse Barn arts centre in Walton-on-Thames has films occasionally, usually related in some way to other events there, particularly music.
The South Hill Park arts centre in Bracknell has a regular film programme in addition to the Bracknell Film Society showings which take place there.
The Watermans arts centre in Brentford has a regular film programme which includes parent & baby screenings and Asian films.