NXDFFF has been going since 2012. We like to start and end our festival with a party – a music related film followed by DJ’s. The festival is also top and tailed by open-air bike powered screenings – one in New Cross and one in Deptford. In between anything goes - there are documentaries, short films, mainstream family favourites, nostalgic matinees and low-budget independent shorts. The festival is run entirely by volunteers made up of local residents, students and community groups. Every year the festival welcomes new contributors with great ideas for new film events and venues across New Cross and Deptford. We like to team up with a variety of businesses and community organisations to keep things fresh. We usually have about 30 people organizing and curating individual events with the help and guidance of a core festival team.

What we'll deliver:

• We offer 30 free film events to suit all ages and interests.
• We offer a 10 day free film festival across SE14 and SE8
• We take film into the community and bring people together. 2,500 attended last year.

Why it's a great idea:

Everybody loves film! Free films are a great way to engage the community. Over the last four years the festival has increased its audience year on year and made connections and nurtured partnerships with many local organisations, businesses and individuals. The NXDFFF now has a certain amount of name recognition locally and is increasingly a valued annual event on the New Cross and Deptford cultural calendar. The NXDFFF core group encourages volunteers to take on various tasks and learn new skills in event organisation, media communication, technical set up, print design and copy writing etc. The festival continues to grow and this year we aim to create more opportunities for people in our diverse community to come together through a shared love of cinema.

Steps to get it done:

• we hold monthly meetings with volunteer event organisers to discuss ideas and logistics
• we liaise with the council about large out-door screenings
• we apply for licences, permissions and permits
• we collaborate with local venues to curate exciting film events
• we create a print programme, posters and get the word out on social media

The New Cross and Deptford free film festival is gearing up for its sixth year with a programme that has something for everyone. If we are successful in raising funds we would like to use some of that resource to reach parts of the community who do not have access to the internet. We are aware that there are sections of our local community that are hard to reach. Funding would enable the festival to collaborate with local organisations who may want to be involved in the festival. A longer term aim is to create a series of free film festival training workshops for communities who want to set up their own festival.