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The ICO blog brings you all the latest news from the world of cinemas and film festivals, including opportunities, best practice guides, festival reports, opinions and interviews. To sign up to receive regular updates on the blog, click here. If you’d like to pitch a piece for our blog, please read our guidelines here.

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Several rows of empty yellow seats in a dark cinema auditorium.
Young Film Programmers and the Pandemic
Posted on April 9, 2021

Young Film Programmer’s Groups give young people a stake in venues and aim to increase younger audiences made up of their peers. Venues work with young people to help them run screenings and events in their cinemas, empowering them to conceptualise, develop and deliver their own programmes. But how do you continue this work when all venues are closed? We spoke with Shelby Cooke, Film Programmer and Editor-in-Chief at Film East, about how she adapted their activities to the online space and the valuable experiences being part of a YFP Group has given her, even during a pandemic.
Two young men sit opposite each other at a small table in a chicken shop. The one on the left wears a hoodie, the one on the right a suit and tie.
News & Opportunities: March 2021 round up
Posted on March 25, 2021

Our regular monthly update featuring all the news and opportunities that matter for your cinema, festival or film society right now.
A young boy, half sitting, half lying on a mattress covered with a patterned blanket in an overgrown field looks solemnly at the camera, trees and a pale blue sky behind.
A space for discovery: Our Screening Days Introducing... programme
Posted on March 18, 2021

In this blog, ICO film programmer Heather McIntosh discusses the newly implemented Introducing... slot in our Virtual Screening Days event, a curated selection of short films highlighting work by exciting creative voices from underrepresented groups, and our Programme Advisors speak about the films they decided to put forward for this second edition of the programme.
A person wearing a striped t-shirt is silhouetted in front of a bright light, which shines over water which sprays in front of the person.
Berlinale 2021 Round Up: Ones to Watch
Posted on March 11, 2021

We spoke to our film programmers Heather McIntosh and Isabel Moir about what they watched at this year’s virtual Berlinale Industry Event, and their top tips for titles to watch out for in the coming months.
News & Opportunities:
February 2021 round up
Posted on February 25, 2021

Our regular monthly update featuring all the news and opportunities that matter for your cinema, festival or film society right now.
On the left, an analogue film projector shines a light onto a dark red curtain.
Mental wellbeing during COVID-19
Posted on February 11, 2021

As the coronavirus pandemic continues to impact our personal and working lives, focusing on your wellbeing and those around you has never been more important. In this post we hear about the mental health support available for film workers, some advice on how to manage your wellbeing, and a personal account of someone's experience during the pandemic. We know that everyone's experience of the pandemic has been different and moving forwards in these uncertain times is incredibly difficult. Not all advice in this article will be relevant to all, but we hope it creates some comfort in knowing you are not alone and that there are support networks out there to help.
Spotlight on Black talent
Posted on February 5, 2021

Amongst other areas, our recent Black Film Bulletin blog series touched on Black filmmakers of the past and present, some of whose work has not been widely seen, and their vast and exciting potential to inform, inspire and reward both cinema programmers and audiences today. For this post, we asked Adam Murray, film programmer, filmmaker, writer/critic and broadcaster at Bristol/Birmingham curatorial collective Come The Revolution and Rico Johnson-Sinclair, Director of CineQ, a queer film exhibition organisation that prioritises queer, trans and intersex people of colour, to share the Black filmmakers and creatives they are most influenced and inspired by – and whose work, in their opinion, hasn't yet received the recognition it deserves.
News & Opportunities: January 2021 round up
Posted on January 29, 2021

Our regular monthly update featuring all the news and opportunities that matter for your cinema, festival or film society right now.
The cover of the BFB’s summer/autumn 1995 issue © Black Film Bulletin
Black Film Bulletin Series, Part 3: Future vision
Posted on January 12, 2021

Publication ceased around the turn of the millennium, but now the Black Film Bulletin is coming back. ICO Director Catharine Des Forges spoke to its co-founder June Givanni, Curator and Director of June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive; Melanie Hoyes, Industry Inclusion Executive at BFI and Jan Asante, Curator at Think Cinematic for part three of an extended conversation about the role of the BFB now, the effects of the pandemic on the industry and how they are looking ahead.
News & Opportunities: December 2020 round up
Posted on December 31, 2020

Our regular monthly update featuring all the news and opportunities that matter for your cinema, festival or film society right now.

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