Film project in the running prestigious National Lottery award

‘The Box on The Box’, an initiative set up during the first lockdown last year to prevent isolation among the elderly through screening archive film footage directly into care homes, IS appealing for votes after reaching the finals of the National Lottery Awards 2021 ‘Project of the Year’. 

The project beat off stiff competition from more than 1,500 organisations to reach the public voting stage in this year’s National Lottery Awards, which celebrate the inspirational people and projects who do extraordinary things with the help of National Lottery funding.

There are 17 shortlisted finalists from across the UK, who will compete in a four-week public vote to be named the inaugural National Lottery Project of the Year. Winners will receive a £3,000 cash prize for their project and an iconic National Lottery Awards trophy.

‘The Box on The Box’ was an initiative that came about during the first Covid-19 lockdown. The Box - Plymouth’s new museum and gallery - live streamed films from their archives direct to some of the most isolated people across the city. Combining archive film with commentary and reminiscence prompts, the project was viewed over 3,000 times by people living in care homes, residential settings and others living with memory loss. One care home went out and bought a smart TV just so they could participate, another spent time going room to room ‘rewinding’ each session so that all of their residents could take part.

Councillor Mark Deacon, Cabinet Member for Customer Services, Culture, Leisure and Sport said: “’The Box on The Box’ project was a big success and has evolved into ‘The Box on Screen’ – an even more ambitious initiative supported by CityFibre and the British Film Institute which is streamed on YouTube and engages with even more people than before. To be recognised for the work The Box does with National Lottery funding is a real honour and we really hope people will get behind this and vote.”

Chloe Hughes, Engagement Programmes Manager from The Box said: “We’re over the moon to be a finalist in the National Lottery Awards and really proud of what we achieved through ‘The Box on The Box’. What started out as a simple idea to share archive footage all about Plymouth had such a profound effect on people and prevented many from feeling isolated at a really difficult time.”

Jonathan Tuchner, from the National Lottery, added: “In these challenging times that we still find ourselves in, we see so many examples of inspirational work throughout our communities, driven by these very projects. It’s thanks to National Lottery players, who raise more than £30 million each week for good causes, that brilliant projects like these, are possible. 

“The Box is doing some incredible work in Plymouth and thoroughly deserves to be in the finals of the National Lottery Awards Project of the Year 2021. With your support, they could be a winner.”

To vote for ‘The Box on The Box’ please go to lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards or use the Twitter hashtag #NLATheBox. Voting runs until 5pm on 4th October.