Training

ICO training courses offer staff of independent cinemas, film festivals and film societies the opportunity to update their knowledge, learn new skills, meet colleagues from around the UK, share best practice, and gain inspiration. Take a day out of your busy working schedule to assess what you're doing right and what you could do better, and return to work with new skills, fresh ideas and renewed confidence. We run courses around the UK and, wherever possible, secure funding to keep the course fees low and to offer travel and accommodation bursaries.

Upcoming courses

Coming soon

  • Organising Accessible Screenings
    Location: Edinburgh International Film Festival
    Date: 18 June 2010
  • Developing Your Education Programme
    Location: Showroom, Sheffield
    Date: 15 July 2010
  • Promoting Your Film Events on a Shoestring
    Location: Watershed Media Centre, Bristol
    Date: 1 – 2 September 2010
  • Programming and Audience Development
    Location: Sadler's Wells, London
    Date: 28 September 2010

More details on these courses in due course. To receive email updates about training courses as soon as they open for registration, or if you have a request for a training course that we aren't currently running, please email Sarah Rutterford.

If you want to see what courses we've run in the past, see previous courses.

Last year we trained 269 people from all over the UK. They said:

"Fantastic course - I have learnt so much and been inspired."

"I would've been lost without the ICO! I've attended a number of ICO training days and have found them invaluable... They are a golden opportunity for cinema operators to raise their heads above daily deadlines and pressures and learn new skills and keep abreast with new developments... Coming along to ICO courses, all of a sudden you realise you're not alone in the world and that there are places you can go for help or advice."

"Many thanks for an excellent course. My colleague's copywriting is now scarily on fire!"

"Without wishing to sound too gushy I found it really inspiring - I came away with a lot of really useful ideas that we can adapt to our own cinema and a lot more confidence in putting in a wider programme to appeal to a more diverse audience. The day really delivered!"