The UK Cinema Association has joined the wider film and cinema industry in celebrating this week’s announcement that the charity MediCinema will receive an award for its Outstanding Contribution to Cinema at this year’s BAFTA Film Awards.
MediCinema is a charity dedicated to improving the well-being of patients in NHS hospitals through the power of cinema and the magic of film, building and running cinemas for patients and their families at seven locations across the UK, with many more developments in the pipelines. Last year alone more than 17,500 patients were able to benefit from going to a MediCinema film screening in their hospital.
Welcoming this week’s news, MediCinema CEO Colin Lawrence said:
“We are honoured to be the recipient of BAFTA’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema award. Film and cinema have an incredible power to remove people from their everyday surroundings. Many in hospital are going through very difficult times, and we see every day how being immersed in the power of the big screen can benefit their psychological wellbeing and provide meaningful release from the challenges of being on the wards. We are so grateful to BAFTA for recognising the contribution and impact we have made over the past 25 years.”
The Award will be presented at the 2025 EE BAFTA Film Awards’ ceremony at the Southbank Centre’s Royal Festival Hall on Sunday 16 February. More here.
The UK Cinema Association has been a longstanding advocate of the incredible work of MediCinema, supporting a number of fund-raising preview screenings across its members’ sites, and a number of the largest UK cinema operators have made the organisation a specific beneficiary of their own charitable activities.
You can find out more about the work of MediCinema here.