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As Director of Cornwall Film Festival, delivered by Mor Media Charity, I’m writing this to raise awareness of a quiet but serious issue facing the UK’s cultural landscape: independent cinemas have been excluded from the Government’s recent £1.5 billion investment in culture . Like many in the sector, we welcome this significant investment and recognise its potential to support sustainable cultural organisations that contribute to economic growth, wellbeing and social cohesion. But the absence of cinemas, particularly independent and community-facing cinema, is deeply worrying. Top left: Merlin Flora Cinema, Helston, The Poly Falmouth, WTW Lighthouse cinema, Newquay. Middle row, Mike Leigh & Mark Kermode at Cornwall Film Festival, the Merlin Savoy cinema, Penzance. Bottom left Merlin Regal Redruth, WTW The Regal Wadgebridge, Newlyn Filmhouse Cinemas are a vital part of the cultural infrastructure Cornwall Film Festival works year-round with independent cinemas and community screening venues across Cornwall, where cinema is often the most accessible cultural experience available locally. In a geographically dispersed county, these spaces are not a luxury; they are essential. Through our partnerships, we: bring UK and international film & filmmakers to Cornwall support early-career filmmakers deliver education and outreach programmes for young people create shared cultural experiences that strengthen community connection Independent cinemas sit at the heart of this ecosystem. They act as cultural anchors, support local economies, nurture creative talent and provide inclusive, affordable access to culture. A sector at risk We welcome the investment but urge the Government to reconsider the exclusion of cinemas from capital funding. Our national partners at the Independent Cinema Office provide this stark evidence: 31% of independent cinemas  do not believe they can remain operational without access to capital funding within the next 3–5 years A further 28% are unsure For many, there is currently no viable route to National Lottery or public capital investment This is not a marginal issue; it’s an existential one. Why this matters in places like Cornwall In regions such as Cornwall, cinemas play a disproportionate role in sustaining cultural life, supporting local creative industries and tackling rural isolation. Treating cinemas differently from museums, libraries, arts venues and heritage buildings risks undermining the long-term resilience of our cultural infrastructure. If we believe culture should be accessible to everyone, not just those in major cities, and cinemas must be recognised as part of that essential fabric. A call for change Today, I have written to Jayne Kirkham , MP for Penryn & Falmouth, asking her to raise this issue with the Department for Culture, Media and Sport . I have also written to Lisa Nandy , Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, urging her to support the inclusion of independent cinemas within future cultural capital funding programmes. Independent cinemas deserve to be supported on an equal footing with other cultural institutions, not as an afterthought, but as a cornerstone of cultural life. If we allow these spaces to disappear, we don’t just lose screens. We lose places of gathering, discovery, learning and shared experience. And once they’re gone, rebuilding them will be far harder and far more costly than supporting them now. Louise Fox Director, Cornwall Film Festival Mor Media Charity

Brief Encounter (1945), 1946 UK release, directed by David Lean, screenplay Noel Coward, starring Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard Written by ©Judith Noble, November 2025. Professor Emerita (Film and the Occult) Brief Encounter has classic status; one of the most beloved of British films; the ultimate weepie, British audiences cited it as the film most likely to make them cry. Its reputation has grown in the last forty years; time has changed our appreciation of it. It was moderately successful on release, but out-performed at the box office by The Wicked Lady. It was characterised on its release as a quality film that would attract middle-class audiences. Now here it is in a season of melodramas. Let’s look a little closer at the film’s appeal: why does a black and white 1940s movie that revolves around just two very middle-class characters (with the kind of accents that are only heard in comedies these days) living out gender stereotypical roles that barely exist anymore, and who, by modern standards, do not really get up to very much, still attract audiences eighty years after it was made? The film retains a tremendous emotional power. Some years ago, I had the salutary experience of teaching film narrative to animation students at an arts university by screening examples of classic films. Part of the post cinema generation, these students had never seen any classic films before. My practice was to screen the first half hour of the film (due to time constraints) then discuss what was going on, and leave the students to watch the rest in their own time. When it came to Brief Encounter, the outcome was startling. At the end of half an hour, the students begged me not to stop the screening, so we watched the whole thing. By the end, all the students were weeping. Many of them were very shocked that the film had elicited this response, although I had forewarned them about its power. I spent the lunch hour comforting distraught animators. Brief Encounter is being shown today in the context of a season of melodramas, often a very undervalued genre. A melodrama can be defined as a film where music is a fundamental element of the narrative. It is also usually a film made for female audiences, with a story told from a woman’s point of view, and full of emotional highs and lows. Brief Encounter is certainly all of those things. The music especially is a key: Rachmaninov’s dramatic, romantic Second Piano Concerto played here by Eileen Joyce (a very popular female performer when the film was made). I think the film is also rather more than a melodrama. It may surprise people to learn that in the 1920s and 30s the key textbook for Hollywood screenwriters was Aristotle’s Poetics. How many of them used it to good effect is open to debate, but Brief Encounter fits Aristotle’s definition of tragedy perfectly: the characters try to escape their pre-ordained fates; the audience empathises with them in this; the drama evokes feelings of pity for them, and at the end the audience experiences an emotional cleansing or catharsis. This is a film about two, small ordinary lives, but it is no less tragic for that; the characters cannot escape their fates and we weep for them. It is, of course, perfectly okay to weep when watching Brief Encounter and indulge in catharsis as approved of by Aristotle. There is so much we could say about this film. To some it may seem dated and class ridden, and some of the humour has to be explained to younger audiences. The phrase, “getting a girl into trouble”, for example, has lost its risqué meaning. Eighty years after its making, surely there are no middle- class nuclear families with cut glass English accents, two perfect children and a servant to make dinner anymore? But… surely anyone who has loved “the wrong person” will see something of themselves in this film, and recognise the power and danger in desire that can tear lives and families apart. Perhaps too, the film will appeal most to those who have shared the experience of its main characters: an older audience with more life experience; to those who “do the right thing” and who do not allow illicit desire to disrupt family and relationships, but who will still be changed by it forever. Part of the film’s success lies in the fact that it is incredibly well-crafted and precisely made in a particularly British, tweed jacket kind of a way. Acting, mise-en-scene, camerawork, are all more or less perfect. It has strong links to the theatrical tradition: The confined interiors, the close focus on the two main characters, and the comic working class characters used as foils for the protagonists which date back as far as Shakespeare (think of the ‘rude mechanicals’ in A Midsummer Night’s Dream) but is completely cinematic, for example the close up of Dolly’s mouth as she talks relentlessly, and the tracking shot that opens the first refreshment room sequence and establishes the characters. The spare, matter of fact acting and camerawork and the pace of the film, hurried along by the plot device of the railway timetable, mean it never descends into sentimentality. It has wry moments of comedy, mostly at the expense of the popular culture of its time. Please do look out for the wonderful comic cameo by the ineffable Irene Handl. It is a “woman’s story” and told throughout from Laura’s point of view; she narrates it. But look, she is not just telling us her story; she is telling it in her mind to her husband, Fred, the one person to whom, as she says, she will never really be able to tell this story. It is important to note, though, that there are no women behind the camera here; we have Lean and Coward telling a woman’s story. The role of Celia Johnson is absolutely pivotal, and her performance is extraordinary. She is on screen for almost all of the film. Notice how she has to act silently in several sequences, conveying extreme emotion without speaking on camera, while telling her own story in voice over. She comes across as a much stronger character than Trevor Howard. I find his actions have a difficult coercive undertone; he continually forces Laura to admit more, do more, overcome her scruples, and this makes her moral dilemma all the more frightening and compelling. Just as the protagonists are dominated by their societal roles and rigid convention, so the plot is dominated by time. It is structured through the railway timetable which allows the lovers only brief bites of time together before they must catch their trains home to their families. As well as the narrative, the music, the Rachmaninov concerto, belongs to Laura: we only hear it through her (it stops when the camera focuses on other characters) and it signifies her desire for Alec, so the symbolism of Fred asking her to turn the music down as she sits overwhelmed by emotion, is almost unbearable. The film is often described as “realist”: Its rundown realistic locations and sets are a million miles from Hollywood scenarios, or from other lavish British films of the period (The Wicked Lady, for example), and the characters wear understated everyday clothes; it is trying to look just like the lives of its intended audiences. It has always been recognised that Brief Encounter, written by one of the most well-known gay men of his generation, has a gay subtext, and it remains a favourite with queer audiences. The film is based on Coward’s play, Still Life , and we should note here Kneehigh Theatre’s wonderful live theatre production of Brief Encounter, first performed in 2007 and directed by Emma Rice, that draws heavily on Coward’s original theatre piece. We can read the love affair in Brief Encounter as emblematic of the fleeting unfulfilled desire that was the experience of gay men at a time when homosexuality was a criminal offence. Richard Dyer’s book on the film for the BFI Classic Films series explores in detail the many pleasures of Brief Encounter for queer audiences. In 1990 Richard Kwietniowski (who subsequently directed the feature film Love and Death in Long Island) directed a witty, elegant short film, Flames of Passion; a gay re-imagining of Brief Encounter. Brief Encounter has for me a strong link to the world of fairy tales and archetypal storytelling. In the inciting incident. Laura gets a piece of grit in her eye, and Alec removes it. This is what everyone remembers about the film and it has been used in comic sketches and advertising down the years. This metaphor of “something in the eye”, of fear of blindness, which is specifically referred to here, and of another kind of sight is common in folk tales; think of the splinter of ice in little Kay’s eye in The Snow Queen. Faery ointment confers the ability to see into Faerie and bestows inner vision on mortals and may be dispensed by faeries or by mortals working for the faeries. But this second sight, this inner vision is a precious and secret thing; only meant for mortals if gifted to them by the faeries, and not to be stolen or taken by accident. If you admit to having it without permission, disaster will ensue. In one folk tale which has variants across Wales, Cornwall and other parts of Britain, a mortal nurse hired to look after faerie children accidentally gains the sight through misuse of faerie ointment. She admits to her faerie master that she can see him; he asks her which eye can see him, and immediately blinds her in that eye. This kind of magic vision, gained by Laura when the grit gets in her eye, is a very dangerous thing. She did not ask to be given it but it will change her forever. It enables her to “see” Alec in a new and shocking way; to look and to desire; were she to admit to this, she would lose everything. Notice how, when the flashback sequence starts we see Laura sitting on a chair at home with her workbox, seeing herself in her inner, magic vision, looking into the inner world of the film and her last meeting with Alec. In the café, when Alec starts to explain to her about his medical specialism, she says “I see” repeatedly. There are metaphors for vision throughout the film, not least when we watch the lovers in the cinema watching a film. When we see Laura looking through the window of the railway carriage, she is looking intently, but seeing her new inner worlds and the object of her desire rather than her everyday surroundings. Brief Encounter reminds its audience repeatedly of this archetypal storyteller’s trope of the second sight, the faerie vision which is full of pleasure, danger and tragedy in equal measure. Please remember: Its okay to cry . Watch a clip of Flames of Passion; a gay re-imagining of Brief Encounter.

Many people saw it as a bit of fun as we explored a mock haul from the Louvre , inspired by the quirky escapades of a fictional art heist! But while our playful nod to jewel-thieving mischief might have sparked smiles, Kelly Reichardt’s The Mastermind —screening at The Poly, Falmouth on Sunday 23 November, 5.15–7.15pm —offers a far more reflective take on crime, consequence, and chaos. Reichardt, the acclaimed filmmaker behind First Cow  and Showing Up , turns the heist genre inside out in this quietly riveting new drama. The Mastermind  follows JB Mooney (played by Josh O’Connor ), a down-on-his-luck carpenter and failed art historian who persuades his mates to steal a series of Arthur Dove paintings from their local museum. The plan is doomed from the start—spotted by schoolgirls, bungled in a scuffle, and undone within days—but the director’s lens transforms their failure into something strangely beautiful. Set in 1970s America , at the crossroads between the fading dreams of the 60s and the disillusionment of the new decade, Reichardt’s film pulses with quiet tension and political undercurrent. While Mooney stumbles from one mistake to the next, the background hums with anti-war protests, Nixon broadcasts, and the creeping rise of individualism. It’s a heist film stripped of glamour, where every choice reverberates through the people left behind—most heartbreakingly Mooney’s wife Terry (played by Alana Haim ) and their two young sons. Scored to a restless jazz soundtrack by Rob Mazurek  and Chad Taylor , The Mastermind  is both melancholy and mischievous, an examination of how one man’s search for freedom ripples across others’ lives. In contrast to the real-life efficiency of those seven-minute Louvre thieves, Reichardt’s misfits remind us that freedom often comes at someone else’s cost—and that, sometimes, the greatest heist is simply getting away with ourselves. 🎟️ Screening Tickets The Mastermind The Mastermind is included in our Pay What You Can initiative 📅 Sunday 23 November, 5.15–7.15 pm 📍 The Poly, Falmouth 🎬 Director:  Kelly Reichardt

Mor Media Charity | Encouraging Creativity and Culture to Thrive in the Digital Arts through events, education, community and industry projects. STORIES FROM ALL CORNERS OF THE WORLD - Check Out Our Opportunities Submit your film to: CORNWALL FILM FESTIVAL - Film Competition QUICK CUT: 90 SECOND CHALLENGE - Film Competition Apply to our: Film Pre-Selector Programme Internship Programme Visit our Opportunities Page to learn more about each position. OUR FUNDERS & PARTNERS

Animate Helston is a festival and celebration of animated film held at the Museum of Cornish Life. ANIMATE Helston Join us over the February half-term 16 – 21 February 2026 The festival of fun ! Free workshops & screenings Workshops Let your imagination run wild at these free bookable workshops! Create your own animated story inspired by Cornish myths and legends. . This hands-on 90-min family workshop introduces you to stop-motion animation inspired by Cornwall’s folklore. Working with ready-made, cut-out puppets, participants will concentrate on animation techniques, sequencing and sound, finishing the session with a completed mini film. All materials will be supplied. Led by celebrated professional animator Sarah Beeby Fun, creative, confidence-building – and you don’t need any experience at all! Book your free ticket here: 10.30am – 12 noon or 1-2.30pm Age Range 7-13yrs. All children must be accompanied by an adult, max 3 children per accompanying adult. Tickets are available on a first come first served basis. Workshops are being held in the Guildhall next to the Museum of Cornish Life. These workshops are part of Mini Animate Helston, funded by the Film Audience Network, part of Cornwall Film Festival, designed to make animation accessible to all and inspire the next generation of creative talent. Animate Helston is a partnership project between the Museum of Cornish Life and MorMedia. Book Now! Film Screenings at The Basement The Amazing Maurice 10 am Directed Toby Genkel & Florian Westermann | 93 minutes | Animation, Family | English | Certificate PG Streetwise cat Maurice travels between towns, offering to solve their sudden rat problem. When he arrives at each location he unveils Keith, a young boy who can play the pipe quite well, and the rats march out of town to the relief of the townsfolk. Maurice, along with the money he receives from the grateful town, suddenly disappears and he resurfaces a suitable distance away to count his earnings along with Keith and the rats! But these are no ordinary rats – they talk and wear clothes and dream of an island paradise where rats and humans live together in peace. All goes well with their ‘rat scam’ until they reach the town of Bad Blintz, where they meet a book obsessed girl, Malicia, who leads them on an adventure to solve the mystery of her town. Adapted from a Terry Pratchett children’s book, this is an animation all about storytelling. Howl's Moving Castle 12pm Directed Hayao Miyazaki | 119 mins | Action and Adventure, Animation, Science Fiction and Fantasy | Japanese (English subtitles) Certificate U From the famed Studio Ghibli, this Japanese animation introduces us to Howl, a short-tempered wizard who lives in a magical castle with legs that can grow and shrink in size. When Howl sees young hat-maker Sophie being persecuted by soldiers, he intervenes and saves her - but this makes the Witch of the Waste jealous, leading her to turn Sophie into an old, creaky woman. We follow Sophie's story as she struggles to make her way to the castle to get her curse reversed - while at the same time, the country begins preparing for a war. A fantastic and imaginative treat from the mind of Hayao Miyazaki, this is a delightful entry point into Japanese animation, whilst also asking questions around the importance of growing and evolving our personalities. The Girl Who Leapt Through Time 2.15 pm Directed Mamoru Hosoda | Anime, Action, Romance, Comedy, Science fiction, Adventure, Drama, Mystery | 98 mins | Certificate 12 Makoto is a typical teenage girl who spends most of her days slacking off with friends. One day while rushing to meet her aunt, she nearly gets hit by a train, but at the last second, finds herself jumping backwards in time to before the accident. She immediately makes use of her newfound ability to re-do every minor inconvenience--from poor exam results to awkward confessions of love. However, when faced with the consequences of tampering with time, Makoto must do everything she can to avoid a dire future that can't be reversed. Check out animations we love We screen a selection of animated short film work over the half-term at The Museum of Cornish Life . Get excited about animation ! Learn More Check out our Best of Animation List on Letterbox Our partners

Our programmes offer a diverse range of opportunities for volunteers, interns, and mentees. By getting involved, you’ll gain valuable experience, develop new skills, and expand your professional network. Participants can benefit from mentorship, hands-on learning, and the chance to contribute to meaningful projects. Join us and be a part of something impactful! Opportunities at Mor Media Charity Our programmes offers a diverse range of opportunities for volunteers, interns, and mentees. By getting involved, you’ll gain valuable experience, develop new skills, and expand your professional network. Participants can benefit from mentorship, hands-on learning, and the chance to contribute to meaningful projects. Join us and be a part of something impactful! Short-term Evaluation Role for Impact Purpose of the Role We are seeking support to design and carry out an independent assessment of the social & economic impact of the Cornwall Film Festival. As a small charity delivering a county-wide cultural programme with limited staff capacity, we would greatly benefit from external expertise to help us measure and evidence the value our festival creates for Cornwall. Specifically, we are looking for assistance with: • Developing an appropriate evaluation framework for assessing direct and indirect economic benefits, including visitor spend, cultural tourism uplift, sector employment, and supply-chain impact. • Analysing data from our venues, audiences, partners, and local businesses to build a robust picture of the festival’s contribution to the economy. • Producing an independent, credible report that we can use for future fundraising, partnership development, and local authority engagement, ensuring we can continue to grow and sustain the festival. • Help design simple tools and systems that measure the wider social benefits of our community programmes, particularly for people facing social, cultural or economic exclusion. Expected time commitment: Over 3-6 months (no more than 20 hrs) Remote or limited in-person (travel covered) Pro Bono Request Deadline: 1st March 2026 Volunteer Make a difference by volunteering with us and supporting meaningful projects in your community CLOSED Learn more about the M1 programme > Internships Gain hands-on experience and grow your skills by interning for 3-6 months with our team OPEN Learn more about the M2 programme > Mentoring Share your expertise as a mentor or learn and grow as a mentee in our inspiring mentorship programme HOLD Coming soon ! The M3 programme 2026 CORNWALL FILM FESTIVAL We are looking for bold, innovative, and genuine stories! For the next edition of The Cornwall Film Festival. Open for entries from across the globe, 20 mins or under for shorts and feature films, BIFA-accredited competition. 12 Categories from South West to International, UK to Experimental. Enter the competition now! QUICK CUT: 90 Sec Quick Cut is Cornwall Film Festival’s brand-new micro-film competition — a celebration of bold, original, and independent storytelling told in just 90 seconds. OPEN NOW Creative Writing: Story Structure 🗓️ Monday 15 December 2025, 5:30 PM (online) Learn how to turn your idea into a compelling short-form narrative. Explore structure, tone, and emotional impact in under two minutes. Book Now We invite filmmakers from around the globe to submit bold, innovative, and authentic stories that showcase distinctive storytelling and stylistic boldness, this is your opportunity to sit at the heart of the festival. PRE-SELECTORS - Submissions Are Open If you have a passion for film culture, an aspiring filmmaker or just love cinema. Based anywhere in the world ! Flexible schedule and festival credit This is for you! APPLY 15th December 20265- Deadline 1st of March 2026 You will have the opportunity to work with the festival team to critically judge and select award-winning short films. This might be the first step in your career, or you're an experienced juror we would love to hear from you! Apply Here NEW for 2025/6 FEATURES - The best emerging long-form films from across the globe. Queer on Screen The best of queer filmmaking and/or queer stories in both narrative (fiction) and non-narrative genres from UK and beyond Environmental, Climate & Sustainability Projects that address the Environment and/or Climate and/or Sustainability NOTE: Returning Jurors fast track application New Wave Jury - CLOSED After a few year of sucessfully running the New Wave Jury in the South West we have some exciting changes to make to 2026 Watch this space !