Reflecting on the past year through our annual review

Our annual review looks back at the past year, highlighting everything that our team, the educators we work with and the young people they serve, and the wider screen industries have done to make a difference in young people's lives using film.

As the year comes to a close, it's always great to reflect on key achievements before rushing into the next one. Over the past financial year, we've had some big changes at Into Film, including a fresh programme honing in on careers, teaching, and filmmaking with greater focus, to enhance our mission to support young people to use, watch and make films and moving image, and find their path into the screen industries. We have also welcomed Fiona Evans, our new CEO, who has brought a wealth of experience and new energy to the organisation.

We also wouldn't be able to achieve everything we have without our funders and key stakeholders The BFI, awarding National Lottery good cause funding, Cinema First, and Northern Ireland Screen, along with the film industry and other organisations who have helped to fund projects.

"Since joining Into Film in April, I've been able to see first-hand the incredible work that goes on in collaboration with all our wonderful partners in schools, in communities and from across the screen industry", said Fiona Evans, CEO. "Together with the educators and youth leaders who we work with across the whole of the UK, we have made a real impact on the children and young people who have engaged with the Into Film programme. 

We have seen exceptional creativity from these young people through our filmmaking projects, awards and competitions, and a real appetite to put that creativity to work in our screen industries in the future. Our extensive careers programme and many inspiring events with the industry across the UK have left us in no doubt that the next generation is ready to make their mark. 

From enhancing our educational resources, to expanding our Into Film+ streaming service, and extending our professional development opportunities for teachers, we are delighted that over half of UK schools have engaged with the Into Film programme in the last 18 months, including the hundreds of thousands who enjoyed our free Into Film Festival in cinemas and venues in November. 

I'm enormously grateful for the support of our partners, funders, and the broader film industry, and I'm excited for what we can achieve together in the years ahead."

We have continued to facilitate teachers, educators, youth leaders and careers leads to support children and young people to better understand how film and moving image can help their understanding of complex topics, spark creativity, enhance literacy and storytelling, and set them up for a career in the screen industries. We also continue to train and educate teachers via our learning platform, offering a vast array of free CPD courses to help them develop professionally and support their learners.

Alongside this, we have continued to create engaging, in-depth educational resources, including those created in partnership with large, well-known film distributors, drawing upon the themes and messages within films to help stimulate children and young people's learning. And not to mention more and more teachers and educators are using Into Film+ daily, bringing film directly into their classrooms.

Key numbers from the past year

• 125,022 teaching resources downloaded
• 193 brand-new resources created
• 4,685 educators trained
• 22,000 educators streaming Into Film+
• 389 competition entries from Young Filmmakers

We asked educators about the impact Into Film has had on their delivery and pupils...

• 80% of teachers said Into Film improved young people's personal and social skills including empathy
• 99% of educators said Into Film helped their students develop literacy skills
• 98% of teachers said Into Film improved young people's access to culture