VOLUNTEER

Alchemy Film & Arts

Using film as a way to come together, have conversations and strengthen community.

VOLUNTEER AT ALCHEMY FILM AND MOVING IMAGE FESTIVAL 2025!

Our flagship event is the UK’s festival of experimental film and artists’ moving image, known for the warmth and inclusivity with which it is delivered.

Volunteers at Alchemy range from those with existing technical or hosting expertise, to students developing their skills and experience of cultural events, to those looking for new challenges and to meet new folk.

Depending on shift length and role, volunteers will receive access to film screenings, free meals and relevant training.

Volunteers are welcome to commit to anything from a single shift up to the whole festival – it’s up to you! We will always take into consideration your preferences and availability, and will never expect or ask you to do anything you don’t want to do.

Read through Alchemy’s various volunteer roles below.

VOLUNTEER TRAVEL REIMBURSEMENT

Alchemy will reimburse a ticket on Borders Bus number X95 up to the cost of for your return journey and cover other forms of transport from within the Scottish Borders.

TRANSPORT

The nearest train station with amenities to Hawick is Galashiels. Galashiels is reached via ScotRail’s Edinburgh Waverley-Tweedbank train. It is the penultimate stop on that service. From Galashiels, it is an additional half-hour car or bus journey to Hawick.

Border Buses runs a regular bus, Service X95, between Edinburgh and Hawick via Galashiels (if arriving from elsewhere in Scotland), and between Carlisle and Hawick (if arriving from England).

SIGN-UP

Sign ups to Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival 2025 are now closed.

Be the first to know about additional events and Festival updates by signing up to our mailing list.

You can find our Volunteer Policy here. You can read more about the Festival here.

WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT ALCHEMY

It’s been genuinely inspirational and I know for every cultural organisation I’m part of, or every team I help build, I’ll always be asking – How can we make things better for everyone? How can we create an environment where everyone feels welcome? How can we be a bit more Alchemy?

It’s safe to say I really did not expect to have such a profound experience, and it’s a real credit to what an incredible team of people you all are.

Alchemy doesn’t just demonstrate the importance of inclusivity, but what a richer experience it helps make for everyone.

My time as a student volunteer at Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival 2025 in Hawick, brought me an entirely new perspective on the importance of Community when working in film events. The kindness of the Alchemy team was truly what made my experience so wonderful.

It’s been such a privilege to be sharing space with so many incredible films, to be around friends old and new, and the conversations that they have inspired, and I’ve been so overwhelmed by the kind words too.

I came to the fifteenth edition of Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival as a student fellow curious to delve deeper into the world of experimental film and witness some of the organisation that goes into running an independent, community focused film festival held in the Scottish Borders town of Hawick. […] My learnings about Scottish culture as well as many other cultures represented through original, rule-breaking film has left me feeling inspired and in awe of the attentiveness of the Alchemy team.

I have never been to a festival with so much care at every level – programming, accessibility, safety, space, technical standards (buttery smooth projections, ingenious travelling loops, even having a team of volunteers trained on how to look after 16mm installations (!!!!!!!!!!) ), hospitality, respect and just feeling so looked after, and to top it all off, not an ego in sight. It really showed what can be done with a team that really cares.

Alchemy Film & Arts

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