Welcome back to your monthly round-up from the ICO, featuring the latest opportunities for your cinema, festival or film society and industry highlights from the UK and beyond.
ICO News
- The full programme and schedule for Inclusion & Diversity (ID) Screening Days (9 and 11 September) is out now, and the programme is set to be one of our best yet! The film titles include award-winners from Cannes and Berlin, powerful debut features, new shorts from working class directors and more, plus workshops and sessions to bring fresh energy and inspiration to the ways you find, welcome and champion diverse cinema audiences. Book your passes before Wednesday, 3 September to join us online or at MAC, Birmingham!
- Bring emerging working class talent to your venue with Uncommon Voices: Exploring Class in New British Cinema. This new selection of contemporary short films explores working class Britain as it is and imagines itself to be, spanning documentaries, flights of fancy and realism. Find out more, and please get in touch to discuss bringing this new programme to your venue.
- We’re thrilled to announce “Crip Melodrama: She’s Hysterical”, our touring season as part of Too Much: A Season of Melodrama from the BFI. The tour will celebrate the 30th anniversary of Todd Haynes’ Safe (1995), looking at depictions of disabled women on-screen through accessible, thoughtfully-curated spaces and conversations centring disabled audiences. Find out more about the tour and the entire Too Much season on the BFI website. More details of how your venue could get involved are coming soon.
- The ICO blog is open now for pitches which share insights on a range of topics such as accessibility, audience development, and new exhibition initiatives. If you have an idea for an article that you’d like us to commission, please read our blog guidelines and get in touch.
Resources, Opportunities and Events
- Do you exhibit heritage footage or want to know more about the rich collections in UK film archives? Explore the newly published ‘Exhibiting the UK’s Hidden Moving Image Archives‘ guide with Hugh Odling-Smee (Film Hub NI) and Andy Robson (BFI FAN Screen Heritage Champion) in a webinar on 8 September.
- Your favourite cinema needs you – voting is now open for BIFA’s Cinema of the Year Awards! Celebrating the experience of seeing a film on the silver screen, visit BIFA to see the full list of nominees and vote for your favourite before 22 September.
- Registration is now open for Industry Passes to the BFI London Film Festival. Taking place from 8 to 19 October, an Industry Pass offers access to exclusive events and screenings for film professionals from the UK and internationally. Learn more and apply for accreditation by 2 September for Early Bird offers.
- Whether you need financial guidance, a supportive voice, or even free counselling for more in-depth support, the Film & TV Charity can help. They’re committed to ensuring everyone working behind the scenes gets the support they deserve. Visit their website today to explore services and resources.
- FilmbankMedia have launched a Prize Draw, offering one lucky film society £100 towards their 100 Years of Community Cinema Celebrations! Enter by 22 September to be in for a chance of winning.
- Make sure your audience understands the core mission and vision of your organisation, as well as what to expect when they visit, with the AMA CultureHive’s guide to creating “About Us” pages.
- Co-collaboration: Building Community Audiences for Independent Film is a free online session taking place on Wednesday, 15 October. Hosted by Film Hub Wales, the session will explore the challenges cinemas face when building connections with communities who might not otherwise attend. Book your place.
- Learn how strategic positioning can help you expand your audience and connect more meaningfully with your community in the Digital Culture Network’s September webinar, available to book now.
- Film Hub Wales has updated their Biodiverse Big Screen Programming Pack with the help of curator Rachel Pronger. It now contains over 390 film suggestions, with rights information included, to help you plan your climate-themed screenings and events.
Good Reads
- Missed the latest ICO blog? Catch up now with a piece from Ivie Uzebu, who reflected on her experiences at our recent Young Audiences Screening Days event in Manchester.
- Read how Bollywood productions interrogate, update and play with Shakespearean texts and traditions, adapting them to local and national contexts with immense popularity and success.
- Major arts and culture organisations across the UK, including the BBC, Sky and the ICO, have become the first to officially back the CIISA Standards, a set of four minimum requirements for creative and cultural workplaces to encourage transparency and eliminate bullying and harassment in the industry.
- The Guardian investigates the impact of the Netflix algorithm on the wider film industry, and how a growing trend of “mockbusters” has changed the way audiences watch films.
- Little White Lies stands up for the long-controversial cinema date as a place to connect on a level beyond the verbal.
- Matt Toigo, the new General Manager of FilmFreeway, spoke with Directors Notes for an exclusive interview that covers topics that will be of interest to film festival staff who use the platform for their event, or have considered doing so. To hear about everything from fees to features, have a read on the Director’s Notes site or have a watch over on YouTube.
- In Exeunt Magazine, Daisy Buchanan looks at accessible, relaxed screenings from a personal neurodiverse perspective and suggests that there could be hyper-focused screenings too.
Image credit: Still from Dreamers, part of the ID Screening Days programme. Courtesy of We Are Parable.