FilmClub Research finds childhood filmgoing paterns continue throughout life

An Ipsos MORI survey commissioned by the organisation FILMCLUB has found that people who watched films regularly as children visit the cinema more often as adults than those that did not.

Respondents who went to the cinema at least once every few months as a child or teenager are three times as likely to go to the cinema at least once every few months now than those who did not. Results show that:

·       55% of respondents that went to the cinema at least once every few months as a child still go that often, compared to 17% of those that never went to the cinema.

·       42% of respondents that went to the cinema at least once every few months as a teenager still go that often, compared to 12% of those that never went to the cinema.

Watching films on television from an early age also significantly increases cinema attendance later in life, with these respondents being approximately twice as likely to go to the cinema:

·       48% of the respondents who watched films on TV as a child go to the cinema at least every few months or more, compared to 20% who did not.

FILMCLUB is growing cinema audiences of the future by making a diverse range of films easily accessible to young people. All schools are developing after school activities by 2010 and FILMCLUB aims to ensure that film is a strong element of this. It is driven by a simple idea: that showing a wide range of films in schools and cinemas will have a beneficial impact on generations of children as they grow up. FILMCLUB promotes learning in an informal setting while encouraging greater input from young people.

FILMCLUB also encourages cinema going amongst its members through exposure to the theatrical experience on organised visits and screenings, promoting individual and family visits and developing relationships between cinemas and film clubs.

Research carried out amongst FILMCLUB schools shows that the club increases young people’s desire to see more films outside of school.

·       Of 345 secondary school children interviewed, 86.6% said they “want to watch more films at home or in the cinema.”

The children’s positive film watching experiences are not confined to the after school club but are shared at home with family members - often a film watched at school will be hired or bought and watched at home. Over 90% of secondary school children respondents say they talk about the films to friends and family afterwards and over 80% of primary school children from 22 schools.

FILMCLUB’s MORI survey shows that the general public recognises the importance of film on personal development and the positive role it can play in a child’s school life. Film is ranked as one of the most important art forms with 68% of respondents ranking it in their top three above literature, theatre and visual art.

A majority of the population agrees that film is important to a child’s understanding of the world and 76% of those people that went to the cinema regularly as a child agree that watching a wide range of films broadens children’s understanding of the world and other cultures.

·       61% of the population think that “film is the most advanced form of story telling”.

The influence that FILMCLUB plays on developing a love of film in young people is recognised by the industry. Founded by filmmaker Beeban Kidron and educationalist Lindsay Mackie, the board now includes: Sony UK MD, Peter Taylor, Working Title Co-Chairman, Eric Fellner, and Chief Executive UK Film Council, John Woodward.

These research results mark the end of FILMCLUB’s first full school year. There are now over 1,800 schools participating in the afterschool club with more than 56,000 children benefiting from exposure to inspiring and potentially life changing films each week. Over the next two years the number of schools will increase to 7,000.

FILMCLUB is free to schools, making it very easy to set up, with FILMCLUB covering licensing to the film distributors through Filmbank Distribution, and supplying films to schools through its partnership with LOVEFiLM.

2189 people were interviewed in the Ipsos MORI survey.
718 young people and teachers took part in the FILMCLUB survey.