Category Film & TV
Published August 14, 2025
Water Lilies, by Claude Monet
The story of Frame by Frame begins when a ten-year friendship and a ride to the hospital revealed a dream with the potential to become an experience.
“I was actually taking Jemma to a hospital appointment, and she said, I had a dream that we had a film club, and I was kind of like, oh, okay, great, let’s do it. And the two of us went full steam ahead,” Rachael recalls.
Friends Rachael and Jemma, both actors and writers, launched Frame by Frame film club as an affordable cinema experience based around discovering new, captivating films, meeting like-minded people, and contributing to the public development of a well-rounded knowledge and taste.
“Our big thing when setting it up was, we’re 20-something-year-olds in London and creatives, so no matter what job all of our friends are in, no one has that much spare money right now.”
“Cinema, in particular, and art in general, is so expensive, and we don’t want people to be charged for a passion,” shares Rachael.
“We don’t want to spend 15 pounds when we go to the cinema. We love film and we love going to the cinema. It’s such a special experience. And I think it’s just unsustainable for people, especially our age, especially living in London, that you go to the cinema, you spend 15 pounds on a ticket, which is ludicrous. Then you spend seven, eight, nine on popcorn and a drink or whatever. We just wanted to create something that is cheap, affordable, and fun, but also social,” Jemma adds.
Being a lover of cinema in its current state is an isolating, tumultuous, and frankly, quite an expensive experience.
But we all remember the magic.
As kids, going to the movies was an event, a special occasion we received as a reward for a hard day’s work (or what a ten-year-old would consider a hard day’s work). We would freeze, enchanted by the beautiful images pouring from a large screen straight into our minds. For some, it sparked a lifelong connection.
As we grew older the movies grew right by our side, remaining loyal companions from the first time we snuck out of school to go see an R-rated movie at a nearby cinema, to that first date when we would slowly move our hand closer to the object of our affection until they interlace discreetly under the glow of a film projector.
Afterwards, when we sat in a café dissecting what we had just seen, they were with us also. And they stayed with us, as a comfort, a place to escape, a conversation starter with strangers, and a reminder that the magic we all felt when we saw our first big screen is always just a movie ticket away.
FRAME BY FRAME launch night, photo by Ryan Ohare
Then, the world around us began to change, and so did the movies. The cinemas grew emptier, and the movies they chose to present were no longer the kind that could gift the unexpected and surprising. The idea of discovering new genres and fine-tuning our taste at a nearby cinema became so unattainable that it turned into just another story, a memory of how it used to be.
The prices of tickets went up, and going to see a movie became an experience financially equated to a night out. No wonder then that with a lack of choice for an interesting watch and prices reaching £20 (in some cases), we have chosen to leave the cinema experience behind, letting go of the magic and settling for that annoying sound that Netflix makes as it opens, ready to serve up another obscure holiday comedy.
Even as we tried to keep going, the experience became less of an event, and dissecting a new film with friends turned into posting online or texting a group chat. Little by little, we locked our need for more genuine and social cinema experiences deep inside. Hoping that one day, we will find a space to fill that need again.
This is where Frame by Frame comes in. Like a knight in shining armour, this film club brings opportunities for independent films to be consumed and analysed in a comfortable setting. As we watched the spark of cinema experiences slowly die out, the founders of Frame by Frame reignited the flame by pouring gasoline of a fun community experience and dropping the match of ‘£5 per ticket’, letting it burn brighter than ever before.
“We were lucky enough to get a partnership with W London Hotels, which has been incredible for us and has really given us an amazing platform to do this,” Rachael told me as we sat down for a call, excited to talk Frame by Frame.
The W partnership allows Jemma and Rachael to keep the prices of the tickets low and make cinema accessible again. With a £5 ticket, you not only get access to a new, amazing film, but also a community united by their passion and curiosity.
FRAME BY FRAME launch night, photo by Ryan Ohare
“When you’re charged 15 to 20 quid to go to the cinema to see a film you may or may not actually enjoy, there’s no room for anyone to develop a taste, because you go and see the thing that is a surefire enjoyment piece. While, if you spend five pound once a month to watch an indie film from Dion Edwards that you would never have seen otherwise, and then hearing from Dion how it was made, and then the next month, you see Unicorns and hear from Jason, who is an actor in it, and you kind of start realising what you actually enjoy and what your taste in films is.”
With these prices, we’re being kind of stripped of that experience. I mean, Quentin Tarantino spent every bloody night of his youth in a cinema developing a taste. So that’s a huge part of, again, why the five pounds is so important to us,” Jemma shares.
As for the audience, everyone is welcome. This project, passion-fuelled from the start, is a perfect example of two genuine film lovers wanting to create an experience for anyone who shares their love for cinema. The authentically welcoming nature of the club was palpable even through a slightly spotty connection (on my end, sorry girlies) of our call.
“It’s basically a little social community of film lovers. And we didn’t expect it to be that when we first started, but it’s been birthed into this lovely, lovely little community.”
“We really don’t want it to be an event for filmmakers only. We want filmmakers who love film, we want a nurse who has just always enjoyed David Lynch.”
FRAME BY FRAME launch night, photo by Ryan Ohare
Since their launch back in spring, Jemma and Rachael welcomed all kinds of guests into their club. Amongst those visitors were a lot of solo female guests. The amazing, uniting, and most importantly, safe space of Frame by Frame already sparked new connections.
“My first impression is the amount of girlies that came on their own. It made me so happy.”
“There was a group of women who would come on their own, and we’d bring someone new into the fold, and I can’t explain how happy it made me. It was the most beautiful, lovely vibe, and I think it was the first time I saw a community being built in front of my eyes,” Jemma spoke on her experience during the film club’s launch.
To be honest, as I began the call with Jemma and Rachael, one of my first thoughts was ‘Oh, I love that they’re both women!’ It added a certain layer of camaraderie and understanding to our conversation. I can imagine, for a girl who chose to come to a film club alone, seeing two women welcome them into a space creates a feeling of security—incredibly important in all spaces.
For those interested in joining Rachael and Jemma for a night of fun and film (that’s everyone, I rightfully assume), here is what a night with Frame by Frame will look like.
As you enter, you will be immediately greeted by one of the founders and welcomed into the space.
“How Jemma and I structure the evening is that one of us is at the entrance of the lobby for anyone coming through, we will literally grab them straight away, they get to meet us straight away, and kind of go, ‘Okay, you’re here, we’ve got you.’ I’ll usually bring them to the bar, where Jemma is. So they’re taken from the lobby, they’re not left on their own,” Rachael comments on welcoming the new arrivals.
You settle in, have a drink, and most certainly meet some excited film lovers. Soon, you are immersed in the long-awaited experience of discovering a new film, a film you would most likely not have had the opportunity to see in a big-chain cinema.
FRAME BY FRAME launch night, photo by Ryan Ohare
On the process of choosing the film to feature in their film club, Jemma told me:
“We do at the moment show British independent films, but that’s not all that we’re going to show. Independent cinema and independent films are what we focus on, so we’ll show films in a foreign language.”
“When people who may never have seen a film with subtitles before come to one of our film clubs, we want to make it accessible and show that it’s not this scary, art-housy thing, they’re amazing, amazing films.”
“For me and Rachael, we really champion independent films, and when we pick and curate our selection, a big thing is we think about our audience and we go: ‘Do we think this will resonate with audiences? Will it spark a conversation afterwards?”
After you have indulged in some amazing, carefully and thoughtfully curated cinema, you are treated to a Q&A that allows you to peek behind the mysterious curtain of film production.
When it comes to their Q&As, though, Frame by Frame wants to shed light on every aspect of the creative process. So often we get to hear from actors or directors of these projects; however, to make a film, it literally takes a village. By giving voice to these stories, Frame by Frame is giving credit to the lesser-known parts of movie-making and allowing people the opportunity to educate themselves further.
“We are gearing them towards hearing from creatives behind the films that aren’t just the lead actor or aren’t just the director. We want to hear from cinematographers and editors because I think a real problem in the industry is that people don’t know a lot of these jobs exist, and they don’t know that they are actually accessible to them. They don’t really know what they would involve, so that they wouldn’t even have an interest in them.”
“These DOPs, these editors spend months of their lives on a project, and they just become a name on the end credits of the film, and we want to give them a platform to talk about their passion and what they do with their job, and that’s something that we feel like is missing. So we just really want to move into that little gap that we feel like is kind of not there right now in London, “Jemma comments.
FRAME BY FRAME launch night, photo by Ryan Ohare
Every month, Rachael and Jemma host a night of creativity, conversation, and celebration of film. And every month, the night brings new and unexpected feelings and realisations.
“I think per month, the tone of the event shifts and changes with the group that assembles and with the audience that comes, which is a really nice discovery.”
With the first few events behind them and many more to go, Rachael and Jemma are looking towards the future, and for these two film-loving girlies, it’s all kinds of bright.
“As we grow as a film club and as we grow as curators, the questions and the depth of all questions and the challenging questions that we ask our QA guests will only get better. We love film, we live for film. And as we grow, hopefully our Q&As will become more and more insightful,” says Jemma.
“A huge part of what we want to do as we go further down the line is this callback to old cinema, which is starting the evening with one or two short films that tonally match the featured film that would be shown. And for us, that would be kind of early filmmakers, ideally. And the early filmmakers will also be given the opportunity to be part of the Q&A with the feature film guest, who’ll be doing a Q&A. We’d love to be that kind of connecting force between very early career staged filmmakers and people who are more established in the industry,” Rachael adds.
Rachael and Jemma, FRAME BY FRAME launch night, photo by Ryan Ohare
For anyone wanting to collaborate, shine a brighter light on, or just learn more about the fast-growing film club Frame by Frame, Jemma and Rachael are always open for a chat ( especially if it comes with the side of a nice cup of coffee).
I first saw Frame by Frame when my loyal TikTok algorithm served me up a video promoting the club. I immediately reached out for a story, a feature, anything to show people that you can still go to the movies, meet like-minded people, and not have to pick between seeing a film and getting a literal three-course meal.
What I got in return is a meeting with two genuine and open women on a mission to bring that magic of cinema back to us. All I can say is, I am excited for what’s ahead for Rachael and Jemma.
“The really exciting part for us is with Frame by Frame, we’re connecting with some incredible groups that are also doing something that is hard to do, which has been really lovely.”
Follow Frame by Frame on Instagram – @frame_by_frame_cinema
And TikTok – @frame.by.frame.cinema
Get updates on all their events via their WhatsApp Chat – Frame By Frame
