Each year the British Federation of Film Societies invites its members to enter an event usually referred to as "the film society of the year competition" after its top award. In fact there are several categories of award to be won. Those categories change slightly from time to time to reflect current concerns in the film society movement.
Most of the award presentations have been made during the Spring National Viewing Session - an occasion for film society committee members to gather and view films just becoming available to societies. These events have mainly taken place at the National Film Theatre in London's South Bank arts complex.
This award is usually made at the same time, though often chosen by a different panel. It is for someone who has made an outstanding contribution to the film society movement. You can read something of its history here.
I have tried to report the award winners each year, but when I have not been able to attend the event it has not always been possible to get full details. I am indebted to Brian Clay who has often sent me information about them. The level of detail in each report varies from a simple list of awards to full details of the judges' comments.
The awards are reckoned to cover a typical film society season which stretches from about September one year to May the next. There has, therefore, been some confusion about which year the award relates to. In this list I show the year of the presentation ceremony. Click the links for the reports: