Welcome to the Heartland Film Society Web Site

The Heartland Film Society (HFS) was formed in 2001 to enable the showing of films on a big screen in an informal and friendly atmosphere. Films are shown in the Locus Centre situated in The Square, Aberfeldy (in the same building as the Tourist Information Centre) normally on the first Thursday and Friday of each month, between September and June.  Doors open at 7.00 pm and films start at 7.30.  The films are free to members but we make a charge for guest tickets purchased on the night. Membership is key to our existence and we always encourage guests to join us.

Each season we aim to create a programme that appeals to as wide an audience as possible. There are old films, new films, foreign films and always something a little thought provoking. Follow the link on the left hand side to see details of this season’s offerings.

Regular Features

At each screening we carry out a film evaluation in the form of a Bean-O-Meter. We ask members to rate the film from 0 (awful!) to 4 (awesome! – must see again) by placing a bean in the appropriate cup. We present the results of the Bean-O-Meter at the AGM and as it helps us to understand the film tastes of our members, we use the results to select films and develop future programmes.

Have a look at the Bean-o-meter page to see past results.

Raffle

Right from the very start we have always held a raffle for each film – indeed our regulars would complain if we stopped this. We only have one raffle prize per film and we endeavour to make it as appropriate to the film as we can. For example, a potted conifer for ‘Snow Falling on Cedars’ and a free piano lesson for ‘The Pianist’. Only £1 per ticket and the money raised is used to cover our costs.

AGM

The AGM is held in January in the Town Hall to enable all our members, and anyone else interested in the society, to attend. This serves as an opportunity to show a film on a larger screen, both to draw people to the AGM but also to thank them for their support. In keeping with Aberfeldy’s status as a FairTrade town, we serve free popcorn and FairTrade wine and juice. At the AGM we invite suggestions for future films and ideas for how to improve the society, as well as displaying our Bean-O-Meter Results.

The original cinema in Aberfeldy (The Birks) closed in the early 1980s. The nearest cinema is in Perth (nearly an hour’s drive away) and only shows mainstream films. The nearest alternative cinemas are in Dundee and Stirling (both about an hour and a half away from the HFS catchment area). Here was an opportunity to provide films for the Aberfeldy community. 

With the help of Dave Skelsey (then secretary of BFFS in Scotland) the first steps were taken towards setting up a film society. We started with a free showing of ‘As Good As It Gets’ which was extremely successful. 

We decided then to try a short three month season in early 2002 showing three adult films and one children’s matinee. Since then there have been six 6-month seasons (April to September and October to March) and in 2005 it was decided to move to a ten film season with a summer break in July and August.

We have had an average membership for each season of 95 and the mailing list is now over 200. Most of our members live within or near Aberfeldy but our catchment area extends 25 miles in all directions.

In 2004, we won the British Federation of Film Societies Best New Film Society award. The judges made special mention of the novel and unique method that HFS uses to evaluate the success of each film shown (the Bean-O-Meter). Not only that but we received commendation for the programme notes issued for each screening.

The main venue we use (The Locus Centre in Aberfeldy town square) opened in early 2001. It has an auditorium of 55 seats with built in digital media centre. In Autumn 2001, the nascent HFS committee became aware that the centre would be an excellent venue for showing films.

Follow the link on the left hand side to find out how to contact us.

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