ICO news
- Spring couldn’t come any sooner as we’ve opened registration for our flagship event of the year! Taking place at BFI Southbank this 2-4 March, our Spring Screening Days will offer you three days of brilliant cinematic gems, including Bo Burnham’s Eighth Grade and Wolfgang Fischer’s Styx. Remember that this event usually sells out, so act fast! If you register by 18 January you can also grab one of our fantastic early bird passes.
- To accompany our The Personal is Political: The Films of Margarethe von Trotta tour we’ve commissioned some exciting new writing on the influence and importance of von Trotta’s films from a range of academics, curators and writers across different generations. Explore the current selection and bookmark the site for upcoming pieces! The films are also available for both theatrical and non-theatrical bookings until October 2019.
- Looking for a laugh? There’s still plenty of BFI Comedy Genius screenings left across the UK. Find one near you.
- Save the date! We’re thrilled to announce that our next Developing Your Film Festival training course will take place at Poland’s New Horizons Film Festival this 22-28 July. We’ll open applications in February – stay tuned for more info!
- Our new archive film project New Towns, Our Town – Stories on Screen is currently bringing a touch of archive film magic to the South East of England. If you live in Hemel Hempstead, Stevenage, Harlow or Crawley and know a community organisation or group that would like to organise a FREE screening of local archive films, please drop us a line on info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk
- Want to get a snap shot of UK independent exhibition and the work we’re doing? Our Annual Report 2017-2018 is the best place for this.
Opportunities
- The Uncertain Kingdom, an exciting new project will be giving up to £10,000 each to twenty opinionated, visionary filmmakers with something to say about the UK in 2019. Applications will open on 14 January and close on 3 February – if you have a short film idea, let them know.
- Are you organising any themed or inclusive cinema screenings this winter? Let Inclusive Cinema know and they can help you promote your event on their channels.
- Applications are now open for the John Brabourne Awards, a talent development programme that supports emerging talent in UK Film and TV with financial grants. Apply by 31 January.
- Filmmakers! Submissions for the 15th Berwick Film and Media Arts Festival are now open until 5 April 2019.
- Do you need advice on attracting new audiences or does your venue have a technical issue that needs fixing? The FAN Advice and Experience Scheme has relaunched and their expert advisors offer FREE 1-2-1 advice on any aspect of the film sector.
- The Women’s Histories Film Menu is your latest opportunity to get involved with the Film Audience Network’s nationwide season of screen heritage events, running from January to May 2019. Exlore which five titles are available to book at reduced rates and you can access up to £500 to enhance your screenings with guest speakers, bespoke marketing materials or accompanying shorts.
- Cinemas and film festivals! Please take a moment and fill the new Employer Survey of the Annual ScreenSkills Assessment (formerly Creative Skillset), which gathers important information on skills gaps and shortages, diversity, training and the future trends of working. It will only take 10-15 minutes to complete and only needs to be filled in once per organisation. You can fill the survey here until Friday 25 January.
- The second edition of the Europa Cinemas Innovation Prize is now open! Let them know of any outstanding, inspiring innovative actions that your cinema implemented last year and your venue could win 10.000 euros. Find out more here.
Good reads
- New research shows how the top movies from 2014 to 2017 starring women earned more than male-led films and how the films that passed the Bechdel test outperformed those that flunked it.
- On 29 November 2018, we hosted Exhibitors Forum with Screen International, giving independent exhibitors the chance to discuss future opportunities and challenges. Screen reports on the day’s discussions.
- “As London celebrates its first borough of culture and some 10 to 12 towns and cities line up for city of culture bids in 2025, there is still hope that the examples of Liverpool, Leeds, Coventry and Hull will influence others to rethink the value of culture to their place.” Local authority cuts to the arts may be widely reported, but some councils are investing serious money in cultural development.
- Now this is what we love! The Guardian reported in December 2018 how UK cinemas were on track for best year since 1971, with thanks to a more diverse film slate and rise of boutique theatres.
- “But it also speaks to a key facets of boutique Blu-ray culture: The sense that these films are worth keeping alive, and within the conversation, at a time when streaming services are pushing a smaller, far more mainstream movie canon.” Wired on the renaissance of the Blu-ray.
- A programme offering low cost, cooked hot meals has helped London’s Stratford Circus Arts Centre engage with local families.
- Read how Odeon’s UK and Ireland chief plans to transform the multiplex experience.
- Little White Lies on why “we need challenging, thought-provoking science-fiction cinema now more than ever”.
- “The gender pay gap in the arts is showing no signs of abating, with women being only half as likely as men to reach senior roles by their mid-30s, and on average earning less than men as their careers progress.” Lack of career progression among women in the cultural sector is the overwhelming contributor to the significant gender pay gap, revealed in initial findings from the 2018 ArtsPay survey.
- We were thrilled to see so many Screening Days favourites topping Sight & Sound’s annual Best Films List.
- Want to find out which films, moments and posters made our year? Explore the list of 2018’s cinematic highlights, as selected by team ICO.