Privacy Notice

Last updated: 30 August 2026

Colchester Film Makers respects your privacy and is committed to looking after the personal information entrusted to us.

This notice explains what information we may collect, why we collect it, how we use and protect it, how long we may keep it, and the rights you have over your personal information.

Who We Are

Colchester Film Makers is the data controller for personal information collected through this website and through the administration of the club.

The Colchester Film Makers website is managed on behalf of the club by Vocal Freedom Productions, which may process limited personal information where necessary to maintain the website, forms and associated services.

For questions about this privacy notice or the way we use your personal information, please contact:

chair@colchesterfilmmakers.co.uk

What Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with Colchester Film Makers.

If you contact us, join our mailing list or complete a form on this website, we may collect information such as your name, email address, telephone number and information you choose to provide about your interest in film making.

If you become a member, we may also hold information necessary to administer your membership, communicate with you about club activities and maintain appropriate membership and financial records.

Where someone takes part in a club film, event or production, we may also hold information connected with that project, which can include photographs, video or audio recordings, credits, contributor information and appropriate permissions or release forms.

For some activities, particularly projects involving schools or young people, additional arrangements and permissions may apply.

We ask that you do not provide sensitive personal information unless it is genuinely necessary. Where information such as accessibility requirements needs to be provided to enable someone to participate safely or fully in an activity, it will be handled with appropriate care.

How We Use Your Information

We use personal information only where we have a legitimate and lawful reason to do so.

This may include responding to enquiries; processing and administering membership; communicating with members about meetings, productions, events and club business; sending news or updates where someone has asked to receive them; organising film projects and productions; managing events and bookings; maintaining appropriate financial and administrative records; operating and improving our website; and protecting the legitimate interests of Colchester Film Makers and its members.

Depending on the circumstances, our lawful basis may be consent, performance of a contract, compliance with a legal obligation or our legitimate interests in running and developing Colchester Film Makers.

Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw that consent at any time.

Emails, News and Updates

If you specifically ask us to keep you informed about Colchester Film Makers, we may use the contact details you provide to send you news, programme information, invitations and other relevant club updates.

You can ask us to stop sending these communications at any time by contacting us.

Communications that are necessary for the administration of an active membership or participation in a particular project may be treated differently from optional promotional or newsletter communications.

Membership Payments

Where membership fees or other payments are made through a third-party payment provider such as PayPal, payment details are processed through that provider.

Colchester Film Makers may receive information confirming the payment, such as your name, email address, transaction details and amount paid, but we do not normally receive or store your complete debit or credit card details.

Payment providers process personal information under their own privacy terms.

Film, Photography and Audio Recordings

Film making is central to the activities of Colchester Film Makers, and photography, video and audio recording may take place during productions, events and some club activities.

Where appropriate, participants will be told how material is intended to be used and any necessary permissions or contributor agreements will be obtained.

Films, photographs and other media may be used for purposes including club productions, screenings, festivals, publicity, websites, social media, educational activities and the historical archive of Colchester Film Makers.

Some material created as part of the club’s work may be retained for the long term because maintaining a record of film making and community life in and around Colchester is an important part of the club’s historical archive.

Children and Young People

Colchester Film Makers may occasionally be involved in projects with schools, community organisations or productions involving children and young people.

Where this happens, personal information and recorded material will be handled according to the circumstances of the project and in conjunction with the relevant school, organisation, parent, guardian or responsible adult where appropriate.

We do not knowingly use children’s personal information for unrelated marketing purposes.

Website Information, Analytics and Cookies

Like most websites, technical information may be generated when you visit this site. This can include information about your browser, device, approximate location derived from an IP address, pages visited and how the website is used.

Cookies and similar technologies may also be used to enable website functionality, understand how the site is being used or provide embedded services.

Some content displayed on the website, such as externally hosted video or social-media content, may be provided by third parties. Those services may collect information according to their own privacy and cookie policies when you interact with them.

Where consent is legally required before a non-essential cookie or similar technology can be used, visitors will be given an appropriate choice.

You can also manage cookies using your browser settings.

Who We Share Information With

Colchester Film Makers does not sell personal information.

We may share limited information with trusted organisations or service providers where this is necessary to operate the club or website. These can include website hosting and management services, email providers, payment processors and other technology or professional service providers.

Information may also be shared where necessary for a particular film production, event or collaborative project, provided there is an appropriate reason for doing so.

We may disclose information where we are legally required to do so or where this is necessary to protect the rights, property or safety of Colchester Film Makers, its members or others.

International Processing

Some of the technology providers used to operate websites, email, payment systems, video platforms or other online services may process information outside the United Kingdom.

Where personal information is transferred internationally, we expect the relevant provider to use appropriate safeguards required by UK data-protection law.

How Long We Keep Information

We do not keep personal information for longer than we reasonably need it.

The appropriate retention period depends on why the information was collected.

General enquiries that do not lead to membership or an ongoing relationship will normally be deleted when they are no longer needed.

Mailing-list information may be retained until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove it.

Membership, transaction and financial records may be retained for an appropriate period after membership ends where this is necessary for administrative, accounting, insurance or legal purposes.

Information associated with film productions, contributor permissions and the historical archive may need to be retained for considerably longer. Films and agreed archive material may form part of the permanent historical collection of Colchester Film Makers.

We periodically review information we hold and delete or securely dispose of personal data that is no longer required.

Keeping Your Information Secure

We take reasonable technical and organisational measures to protect the personal information we hold from loss, misuse, unauthorised access, alteration or disclosure.

No online service or storage system can guarantee absolute security, but access to personal information is limited to those who reasonably need it for club administration, website management or the relevant activity.

Your Data Protection Rights

Under UK data-protection law, depending on the circumstances, you may have rights to ask us for a copy of the personal information we hold about you; have inaccurate information corrected; ask us to delete information; restrict or object to particular uses of your information; receive certain information in a portable format; and withdraw consent where we are relying on your consent.

Not every right applies in every circumstance. For example, there may sometimes be a legal, contractual or legitimate reason why particular information needs to be retained.

If you would like to exercise any of these rights, please contact us at chair@colchesterfilmmakers.co.uk.

We may need to confirm your identity before responding to a request.

Data Protection Complaints

If you have a concern about the way Colchester Film Makers has collected or used your personal information, please contact us in the first instance at:

chair@colchesterfilmmakers.co.uk

We take privacy concerns seriously and will investigate appropriate complaints. We will acknowledge a data-protection complaint within 30 days.

If you remain dissatisfied with the way we have handled your personal information or your complaint, you also have the right to complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), the UK’s independent data-protection regulator.

Information about making a complaint is available from the ICO.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to websites or services operated by other organisations.

Colchester Film Makers is not responsible for the privacy practices or content of external websites. We recommend reviewing the privacy information provided by those organisations when following external links.

Changes to This Privacy Notice

We may update this notice when our activities, website services or legal obligations change.

The latest version will always be published on this page together with the date it was last updated.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this privacy notice, want to exercise your data-protection rights or wish to raise a privacy concern, please contact:

Colchester Film Makers
Email: chair@colchesterfilmmakers.co.uk

Meetings are held at:

Hythe Community Centre
1 Ventura Drive
Colchester
CO1 2FG