I was in co-op this morning where I saw, on the billboard used to advertise local events, a poster for the Charlton and Woolwich Film festival. One of the events it listed was a talk by one Matt Goodsell, a local writer, about Cinephiliac Moments. I was thrilled to see that, although part of me got a little more scared.

On the whole, though, I’m excited; a week tomorrow I’ll be giving my first proper talk in front of an audience. The Free Film Festival movement is incredible: it’s about communities reclaiming the cinema, making film communal once more. Thus it constitutes a type of cinephilia. As it says here, ”The Free Film Festivals phenomenon started in Peckham and Nunhead, south-east London, in 2010. Founder Neil Johns, along with two friends, decided that monthly film clubs weren’t enough. They wanted to take films into schools, parks and housing associations, actively seeking out new audiences.” In a way this is an evangelical movement for the love of film; a love I share, and can’t wait to help spread next Saturday. I have a feeling it’s going to be quite a week.