Soon, the invitations will start arriving. Christmas dinners, work gatherings, family arrangements. The familiar assumption that everyone has somewhere to go, someone to see, a place already kept for them.
For anyone whose life doesn't fit that picture, the season’s insistence on togetherness can feel less like an invitation than a reminder.
Loneliness doesn't respect the festive calendar. Neither should the work of creating opportunities for connection. There's a particular value in thinking now about what will be there when the decorations come down and the invitations stop.
In Morecambe, one answer begins with a film. What happens afterwards matters just as much.
The Bay International Film Festival returns from 29 January to 7 February 2027, with a programme built around childhood, adolescence and youth. Alongside its international outlook is a practical ambition: helping people experience something together, then giving them a reason to stay and talk.
Festival producer Anna Henderson explains the thinking behind the film clubs.
“Tea, coffee and biscuits aren't simply free drinks: they create the warm, sociable atmosphere that sets our screenings apart from traditional cinemagoing. Sharing a hot drink turns a screening into a community event. It gets people talking and helps first-time, older or isolated attendees feel they belong. In an area hit hard by the cost-of-living crisis, it also means a properly free afternoon out.”
Anna's final phrase deserves our attention. A free ticket can still leave someone calculating the price of refreshments or wondering whether they can afford to linger. Including the cup of tea removes another small decision about money.
The conversation has a starting point, too. You've just watched the same film. There's something to ask about, disagree over, laugh at or recognise. Nobody has to arrive with an interesting life update or explain why they came alone.
There's no guarantee that a conversation will become a friendship. A festival can't single-handedly promise to resolve our North West loneliness. What its organisers can do is make the first encounter easier for us, and build conditions where another might follow.
Free community tickets distributed through food banks, relaxed and baby-friendly screenings, and events scheduled around work and childcare all approach that task from different directions.
An invitation becomes more credible when the people offering it have thought about what might prevent someone accepting.
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The 2027 theme, Childhood. Adolescence. Youth., is set to explore growing up across cultures, generations and experiences, with family-friendly programming and a number of short films.
There'll also be opportunities to make work. A Music Video Masterclass will give young people hands-on filmmaking experience with a local band, leading to a public premiere at the festival.
A community photography competition invites residents to look at Morecambe Bay through the cinematic perspectives of Stanley Kubrick, Wes Anderson, Greta Gerwig and Tim Burton.
These activities extend the invitation beyond buying a ticket. They ask people to contribute a way of seeing their town, or to acquire the skills to tell a story themselves. Isn't that wonderful?
Northern Soul, the film following two friends within the club culture of 1970s Northern England, will be accompanied by a Q&A with producer Alan Graves. A Northern Soul party is also planned, bringing the music and dancing from the screen into the evening.
It's an apt inclusion in a festival interested in belonging: a story of young people finding identity through a shared cultural life.
A new Virtual Reality strand, supported by Morecambe Town Council, will also add immersive film to the programme.
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Festival director Darren Henderson describes an ambition that connects the cultural programme to the pressures people are living with.
“We're about more than screenings: in a time of cost-of-living pressure, isolation and rising mental-health strain, we aim to use film to bring people together, spark conversation and inspire, and provide creative opportunities especially for young people.”
The festival's entering its fourth edition. Organisers say most screenings are already more than 80 per cent full, and it's been named a finalist in the Small Event category of the Lancashire Tourism Awards 2027.
Those are signs of recognition and demand. The more useful question is what the festival is doing to make participation possible.
Its crowdfunding proposal includes free and pay-what-you-can screenings, film clubs, workshops, and access measures including live captioning and multilingual translation for post-screening discussions. Organisers say 58 per cent of tickets at the previous festival were free.
These choices need resources: people to welcome audiences, facilitate discussions and provide access support, as well as venues, equipment and films.
The festival names Morecambe Town Council, Lancashire County Council, Lancaster University, Reel Cinema and Film Hub North among its supporters. A live crowdfunding campaign is seeking support for the 2027 edition; organisers say contributions will help unlock additional funding.
For our cultural funders and local decision-makers, there's a useful lesson in paying attention to what surrounds the main event in Morecambe. The welcome, the ticket arrangement and the time available afterwards help determine who can take part.
As Christmas approaches, there'll be plenty of appeals to remember people who are alone. Morecambe’s festival offers something concrete to put in the diary beyond that season: a room to enter, a film to share, and a conversation nobody has to leave immediately.
Sometimes, keeping a seat for someone means making sure there's still somewhere to sit in January.
The Bay International Film Festival takes place in Morecambe from 29 January to 7 February 2027.
The announced venues include Reel Cinema, More Music, Alhambra Theatre, The Exchange and The King’s Arms. Check individual event listings for venue, age guidance, ticket arrangements and access provision.
Festival information and programme updates
Support the 2027 crowdfunding campaign
Header image: The Bay screening at Reel Cinema 2024 (Anna Henderson)
