Jane Coulter (All Set West Programme Manage, pictured) headed out to Galway UNESCO City of Film in Ireland last month, for this year’s annual meeting of the UNESCO Cities of Film Subnetwork.
In this guest blog, Jane reflects on her experience of the trip – and reveals the exciting news that Bristol has been selected as host city for the next meeting in 2027, our tenth anniversary year!
Cultural identity, regional talent, and pride in place; three elements of the 2026 UNESCO Cities of Film annual meeting that truly resonated with us here in Bristol, during our warm welcome to Galway.
Hosted by Ardán, which manages the Galway City of Film designation, the two day event (28-30th September) welcomed representatives from Sofia, Gdynia, Bradford, Valladolid, Bristol, Łódź, Cannes, Potsdam, Terrassa, São Paulo, Busan, Yamagata and Qingdao. I was proud to be representing Bristol alongside Councillor Ani Townsend, City of Film Focal Point Natalie Moore – who is currently seconded to the West of England Combined Mayoral Authority (WECA) Creative Economy team – and Nona Hunter, WECA’s Creative Economy Lead.
Bristol and Galway are two cities that share a distinct pride in their regionality and a desire to tell homegrown stories – and although Bristol doesn’t have an indigenous language to protect, we certainly have a cultural identity unique to the region we inhabit, one that we are keen to support and elevate in the film sector we support.
Talent Development and nurturing emerging filmmakers is another obvious commonality. An evening at Little Cinema enjoying the outcomes of the Galway City of Film 48 Hour Filmmaking challenge not only showcased the quality of filmmaking coming out of the city, but also the dedication to the filmmaking community shown by the organising team. Bristol shares this creative community, and it was a great pleasure to witness this in our fellow City of Film.
Other highlights
- Enjoying a cultural celebration at St. Nicholas Collegiate Church that welcomed poets, musicians, dancers, animators and game developers from Galway, Belfast, Dublin, and Sligo who performed poetry, dance and music for delegates, supported by Belfast City of Music and Dublin City of Literature.
- A day of discussion at Claregalway Castle which included exploring approaches to the emergence of AI and technology, not only focusing on the risks of lack of regulation, but also the potential benefits in relation to accessibility.
- Discussing new opportunities for creative and academic residencies and exchanges with partner Cities of Film.
- Visits to TG4 and Fibin Media in Galway, and also to the set of Ros na Rún, Ireland’s longest-running Irish-language soap opera, which has been filmed in Spiddal since 1996, showcasing the country’s distinct storytelling, creativity, culture and heritage.
Reflections
Together, the meetings and cultural programme demonstrated what makes the UNESCO Cities of Film network special: meaningful collaboration balanced with authentic local experiences.
What left a lasting impression was the value of supporting and bolstering homegrown stories over a continuous period. During the set visit to Ros na Rún it was clear what benefits an ongoing series that reflects a region’s identity can bring, not only for representation but also for supporting local talent with consistent work.
Nurturing local talent takes time and expertise. Through programmes like All Set West, we are starting to build creative communities in Bristol and the West of England and these should be supported and given space to add value to Bristol’s City of Film delivery activities.
Bristol to host in 2027
More than ever, it was clear that joining together with partner cities from across the globe to discuss shared priorities, challenges and ways of working together brings significant value to Bristol. It enhances the city’s perspective and approach to shaping programmes to benefit people that live and work here.
Which is why we are delighted to reveal that Bristol has been selected to host the next annual meeting of the UNESCO Cities of Film Subnetwork in 2027, our tenth anniversary year!
Now that Galway has passed the host city baton to Bristol, we look forward to building a strong programme for our visitors in 2027. One that will showcase the many strengths of our city as a world-class centre for film and the moving image, whilst sharing a taste of the exciting and varied work generated by the talent based here.
For more about the UNESCO Cities of Film, visit: https://citiesoffilm.org/
For more about Galway UNESCO City of Film, visit https://galwaycityoffilm.com/