MediCinema: Outstanding Contribution Award 2025

The following interview appeared in the EE BAFTA Film Awards official 2025 Show Notes.

For 25 years, the charity MediCinema has used the magic of film to expand our notions of care.

Imagine being away from family and friends and all the comforts of home. No matter your age, or how short or long the stay, being in hospital can be an incredibly isolating experience. But what if you could go to the cinema while you were there?

“Unless people with illnesses tell you, I don’t think you could ever appreciate just how much things like art and film matter,” says Maria, a patient who attended MediCinema screenings during her stay at Guy’s Hospital.

The charity provides therapeutic cinema experiences to adults and children in NHS hospitals. Giving access to the latest releases, at no cost to the NHS or the patient’s families. Now, after 25 years, the work of MediCinema – who provided over 1,200 screenings in their seven screening rooms across the UK in 2024 alone – is being recognised with BAFTA’s Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema.

Putting accessibility front and centre in all that they do – with many patients even able to attend screenings in their own hospital bed – the capacity of MediCinema to bring people together is all down to the hard work of its staff, nurses, cinema managers, volunteers and other partners. This is alongside the funding it receives from donations from individuals, organisations and trusts and foundations. Without all of these things such state-of-the-art facilities wouldn’t be possible.

As Maria puts it, “from that first screening, MediCinema gave me a chance to let go and to smile again.”

To hear some of the ways cinema reached and helped hospital patients in the past year, we asked the people who know best. So read on for what the dedicated cinema managers of MediCinema had to say…

“In our screening of Sing 2, it was pure joy watching unwell kids laughing, singing and dancing along. Then there was the heartwarming feeling of seeing the change within the whole family after the film ended. I could see how the parents forgot all the bad stuff going on and just became a family having a great time again.”

 – John Martin, Cinema Manager.
MediCinema, St Thomas’ Hospital, London.

“The Boys in the Boat was a favourite moment. It was such a special and lovely screening with a visit from Peter Guinness, who plays George Pocock in the movie (the builder of the boat and a father figure to the boys). Peter was so kind with the patients, answering their questions and posing for photos; everyone loved his tales of working with George Clooney. It was a truly magical and joy-filled evening.”

 – Simon Hickson, Senior Cinema Manager.
CW+ MediCinema at Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London.

“Our special screening of Paddington in Peru, with special guests Mr. Brown and Paddington, has to be the night which has had the biggest impact on the patients. The kids were absolutely beside themselves to meet the bear. They were astounded that they were being visited by Paddington and were queuing up to give him high fives and tell him that he was their best friend! Hugh Bonneville was absolutely brilliant with the kids and spoke to every single one of them, who couldn’t believe they’d met Mr. Brown.”

 – Kate Thomson, Cinema Manager.
MediCinema at the Royal Hospital for Children / Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Glasgow.

“At this particular Sonic the Hedgehog 3 screening, lots of children came in with their own cuddly toys of the characters. Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles and so on. When asked who was coming to watch the film as well, the children were very keen to tell me all about their plush toys they had brought along with them. They were very excited for the film and at this particular screening. I heard excitement coming from the auditorium while the film was playing. When it ended, all the children’s faces were beaming. It was lovely to see.”

– Jon Jones, Technical Assistant.
MediCinema at Serennu Children’s Centre, Newport, Wales.

• See who else received awards at the EE BAFTA Film Awards 2025

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