Into Film Clubs
Find out everything you need to know about starting an Into Film Club.
After three incredible weeks of free film screenings and events for young people across the UK, the 2024 Into Film Festival closed with a special pupil premiere of Disney's Moana 2.
Moana 2 sees the return of the seafaring Polynesian teenager, who sets sail with an unlikely group of friends to help reconnect her people, who have been scattered to distant islands across the ocean. When she finds one such island, kept hidden by the jealous God of Storms, Moana and her friend Maui, the demi-god, must find a way to bring her lost people to safety.
Our special pupil premiere took place at the Cineworld in Leicester Square, allowing several hundred lucky schoolchildren in London to become some of the very first people in the UK to see Moana's latest adventure. With giant props of Moana's iconic oar and Maui's magical fishhook, the young people were given an unforgettable morning on the high seas.
From our opening events, which saw packed screenings of beautiful British animation Kensuke's Kingdom taking place at locations across the UK, right up to our closing pupil premiere of Moana 2, the 2024 Into Film Festival has been an incredible celebration of cinema and the big screen experience, and of the many, many talented people who help bring the films we love to life.
The Into Film Festival is the largest event of its kind in the world, and the 2024 edition hosted over 356,085 attendees, at 2,500 screenings and events, across nearly 500 cinemas, showing over 60 films. These included special previews and screenings of both new releases and cinematic classics. Many events also featured special guests and film industry professionals who were on hand to introduce the films and hold special Q&A sessions with young audiences.
"I just wanted to pass on my thanks to the team behind the Into Film Festival", wrote Emily Collins, a teacher at Rowanfield School in Edinburgh. "I am so impressed with the opportunity to take pupils to the cinema (and even better that it's been free!). I really appreciate yours and the cinema staff's efforts to put in additional provision to support my ASN pupils. It means so much to staff that our pupils were able to access the cinema just like every other child."
Each screening at the Festival was also preceded by Dinosaur, a short film made by five girls from Sheffield as a result of our Time to Inspire storyboard competition (sponsored by Swatch). Part of our Every Child a Filmmaker initiative, the five girls were given the opportunity to turn their winning storyboard into a fully produced short film, and its inspiring message has now been seen by hundreds of thousands of young people in cinemas right across the UK.
One of the most beautiful aspects of the Into Film Festival is that it allows thousands of children - many from under-privileged regions - to enjoy the big screen experience for the very first time, helping introduce them to an activity that we hope will become a lifelong passion.
"We all had a fantastic time at the cinema on Wednesday", said Julie Keogh, a teacher at King James School, North Yorkshire. "The students loved the film and loved the whole experience of going to the cinema with their friends. We travelled there by train, which they also found very exciting. One of our students had never been on a train before! Thank you again for the opportunity to go to the cinema and for the bursary which enabled us to get to the venue."
This year's Festival really did have a bit of everything. From rare 'in conversation' events with award-winning directors like Amma Asante and Andrea Arnold; to silent films played with a live organ accompaniment, to a screening where everything was powered entirely by the children themselves, using bicycles; to a screening of Dutch animation film Oink! where children were joined in the cinema by real-life micro-pigs, we hope the Into Film Festival was as unforgettable for all of our young attendees as it was for us.
Into Film Festival Review Writing Competition
Now that the Festival is over, we'd love all of our young attendees to turn critic!
Film reviewing can be an excellent tool to help boost literacy, and adds an extra educational element to the Into Film Festival. If you attended a Festival screening, encourage your students to flex their English, comprehension and analytical skills, and write 300 words about the film they've seen.
There are three different categories for entry:
- Primary (for those at primary school aged 5-11)
- Secondary (for those at secondary school aged 11-16)
- Sixth form (for those aged 16-19)
One winner will be selected from each category, and entries can be submitted via email or free-post. See the application form below for further details on how to enter - just don't forget to tell us on the form which film you're reviewing!
The final day for entries is Thursday 12 December 2024. The winning review in each category will win £200 of vouchers for their class to enjoy!
Into Film Festival 2024 - Review Writing Competition entry form
Use this form to enter our Into Film Festival Review Writing Competition.
Size: 378kb
Download our Moana 2: Musical Adventures resource
Moana 2: Musical Adventures is a free resource that uses sounds and music as stimuli for pupils to learn about the main characters of Moana 2, giving learners the chance to develop their musical abilities using collaborative, creative and fun activities which draw on rhythmic concepts and styles.
The resource includes a fun activity and creative competition for learners in KS1 and KS2 (or equivalent). The materials draw on the new film to engage pupils and support learning outcomes across music, literacy and maths.
The Into Film Festival is possible thanks to the support of Cinema First and multiple partners across the cinema sector.
