An end of year letter to the readers of Film Stories

by Simon Brew |
End of year letter
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A year-end letter for those who have supported Film Stories in any way throughout 2025. With huge thanks to you all. Well, crikey. Ongoing proof in my life that time really does tick away is the regularity of this end of year letter to your fine selves. And it starts as always with appreciation: thank ... An end of year letter to the readers of Film Stories

A year-end letter for those who have supported Film Stories in any way throughout 2025. With huge thanks to you all.

Well, crikey.

Ongoing proof in my life that time really does tick away is the regularity of this end of year letter to your fine selves. And it starts as always with appreciation: thank you to you. For every click, listen, watch, read, toleration, interaction… it’s harder and harder for an independent film outlet to keep going, and you’ve got us to the end of year seven. Impossible without you and people like you, and please know you’re hugely appreciated. You’re also absolutely not taken for granted.

Right up front too, I want to thank the tiny team who work on Film Stories, putting out thousands of pages of reading, and hundreds of hours of video and audio.

Ryan is a long-time tolerator of me, and he stepped up to become editor of Film Stories magazine over the summer. I’ve loved what he’s done, he works his backside off – as all the team do – and it’s been a pleasure to read his work. Always is.

Maria’s work has been all over our videos these past few months, and I’m hugely grateful to her for her work in overhauling those. She does a lot that’s not seen, as well as lots that is. Thank you.

James? His work is often hidden from you too, but outside of organising the magazines so I can find them – not a skill of mine! – his diligence, testing and publishing of the newsletter is invaluable to us. Plus, the many hours over and above he spends hunting down typos in print is massively appreciated.

And then there’s John. Again, not a face you see very often on the front line, but then he spends so much time designing, laying things out, editing, sorting out audio levels and shepherding us into some degree of order. Thanks, John.

A note too to Emma, who lends her expertise to sorting out some of our live events. She’s got a lot planned for next year too. We’re going to be very busy.

And to Tony, and the entire Film Stories Podcast Network. We’re lucky to be associated with you, and I appreciate the many brilliant shows you make.

The reason these people in important are so important to me is twofold. Firstly, most importantly, because I massively appreciate them and their work.

Secondly, they’ve been a key part of the reason all this keeps going.

I wrote in my letter a year ago about my dad’s emergency alarm going off back in June 2024. I’ll spare you going back through the details, just that it was the start of a challenging 18 months. I lost dad last month, and what you don’t see is how often the team had to make do without me (and probably enjoyed things more!), the times I had to drop everything and run off. And then, well, the last few weeks. Even when I’ve been about, my head has been all over the place. These people have had my backs. I’m eternally grateful for it.

There are others in the background too. I’m bound to forget someone, but people like Gabe, Finn, Jack, Emily, Abbie, Anand, Irene, Laura, Adam, Adam, Em, Mark, Brendan, Daniel, Anthony, David at the Mac, Lee at the Mockingbird, Aneta… it’s a huge list really. You can’t keep going as an indie without people like that.

Next year will no doubt be challenging on lots of fronts. But! We’re still going. We still don’t do AI, we still don’t (deliberately!) do clickbait, have our first film out, new podcast launches, new videos, new mischief. More magazines, a lot more live events…

We’re finite, though. I feel very aware of that at the moment, and it’s impossible without your good selves. We’re not an outlet awash with marketing funds, we’re deliberately looking to champion and push films that don’t necessarily get us clicks, we’re passionate believers in cinema beyond the superheroes. Every piece of word of mouth you give us, be it a recommendation, social post, review, like, purchase… you know the drill! Please just know it’s really appreciated.

Thank you. Again, thank you. We’re going to down tools over the Christmas and new year break, and come back on 5th January with a huge to do list. Until then, the very best to you all, and hope the festive season has a smile for you somewhere.

Thanks, folks. The best to all of you.

Simon x

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