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 ICO Annual Report 2025-26 is now live. Thanks to everyone who has supported and partnered with us over the past year in championing the broadest range of cinema and helping all communities to have access to a thriving independent film culture.
- We have released two packages of BFI NETWORK Short Films that are free for exhibitors to book! One package is family-friendly (ages 5+), and the other is programmed with young adults in mind. Each features work from emerging filmmakers from the South East (as part of our work as the lead organisation for Film Hub South East) and includes BBFC age certification and a marketing pack.
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Film festivals can access exclusive meet-up events at major festivals, online talks and training sessions through the International Film Festival Network for just £100 + VAT/€120 a year! Registration is currently open.
- Our shorts package, Uncommon Voices: Exploring Class in New British Cinema, is still available to screen at your venue, with the opportunity to support in-person speakers. To find out how to get involved, email bookings@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.
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BFI Southbank is screening I Am Cuba throughout August, including an introduction by film curator and writer Jonathan Ali on Wednesday 19 August. Don’t forget this seminal film is available to book through the ICO’s distribution catalogue.
- Got a fresh insight on film exhibition? Pitch your blog piece to the ICO! Check our guidelines and send a short outline of your idea to info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.
- Browse our Jobs Board to find the latest opportunities across the industry.
- Stay up to date with ICO resources, events, and news by subscribing to our mailing list.
Resources, Opportunities and Events
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There are just seven days left to get a standard ticket for BFI FAN CON before last-minute ticket prices kick in on Thursday 6 August. The conference will take place in Newcastle and is packed with sessions on engaging audiences with archive, working with local partners, fresh insights on young audience data, marketing plans with minimal spend, and more. Check out the website to see more programme info and practical details about joining us.
- Celebrating volunteer-led cinema, with prizes up to £150, applications for Cinema For All’s Film Society of the Year Awards are open until 13 August!
- The final deadline for menu applications to Rip It Up, the 2026 BFI FAN UK-wide season, is Monday 7 September. Exploring and celebrating the changing face of UK youth rebellion, culture and expression on screen, the menu of films includes Human Traffic, Rocks, Ish, and Quadrophenia, plus more.
- HdK are hosting a free webinar exploring TikTok for arts and culture on 25 August at 10:30am, offering advice on how arts organisations can engage with the platform in a way that feels authentic and achieves optimal results.
- Last chance to apply for BIFA’s Cinema of the Year award! Enter your cinema by Friday 31 July.
- Catch The Space’s recorded webinar on making short-form content with Amrit Singh (Rebel Creatives) for tips on creating attention-grabbing hooks and teasers, clipping and reusing content, and more.
- Dial F for Freelancer want to hear from exhibition and distribution freelancers across the UK and Ireland for their first survey. Covering workload, income, wellbeing, professional development and the future of freelancing, they aim to build a clearer picture of the freelance workforce to inform future conversations across the industry.
- Film London’s Distributor Slate Days 2026 will take place at BFI IMAX in London on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 September. This is an opportunity to hear from UK distributors on upcoming theatrical releases, preview exclusive trailers, and connect with industry partners.
- Following its 10th anniversary edition, Cinema Rediscovered is offering a UK and Ireland-wide touring programme available from August until January. Discover how you could host screenings from their archive film lineup and explore additional promotional and financial support.
- CultureSuite invites arts and culture leaders to CultureLab NL on 27 October in Amsterdam for a day of honest exchange by fostering conversation and sharing genuine experiences and results to compare and support one another.
- Bring new young audiences to your cinema with the Into Film Festival 2026 by hosting free educational screenings that will introduce thousands of young people to the big-screen experience. Taking place from 6 to 27 November 2026, UK cinemas have a unique opportunity to connect with local schools, engage new audiences, inspire the next generation of cinema-goers, raise your venue’s profile, and demonstrate your commitment to accessible cinema.
- British Council Arts has recently opened a new round of Connections Through Culture grants, supporting artistic collaboration between the UK and participating countries around the world, which is open for applications until 12 August 2026.
- With Crowdfunder UK now offering no platform fees for arts and creative funding, UK independent cinemas can book a free fundraising advice call with no obligation to start a crowdfunding campaign.
- Reclaim The Frame has relaunched its consultancy services, offering tailored support to help organisations grow reach, deliver impactful campaigns, and embed meaningful inclusion and accessibility practices.
- Reach a wider audience and develop a more accessible and inclusive culture and environment with FAN’s new Accessibility Across the Board Online Learning Course. Register now and receive lifetime access to complete at your own pace.
- Establish your venue as a vital community hub and encourage more visitors by joining the Cool Off in Culture Campaign this summer. A public map that highlights spaces to escape the heatwave, the campaign aims to unite the sector and prove culture is essential infrastructure for climate resilience.
- Film Hub Midlands recently added new Broader Screen Content resources, featuring toolkits and insights for FAN members interested in sharing the full breadth of visual, screen-based storytelling outside of film and television.
- The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is seeking evidence for the future of National Lottery good cause funding. Help ensure the film exhibition industry is heard by submitting before 23 September.
- Film Hub London has a new case study resource, Undocumented: A Framework for Community-Led Black Screen Heritage Practice, which offers practical guidance for building inclusive, community-led Black screen heritage projects.
- Amazon’s Regional Creatives Fund has launched £30,000 grants for UK charitable organisations creating pathways into creative careers, with applications open until Sunday 2 August.
- Applications are open for Launch, Cinema For All’s bursary and online coaching programme supporting the start of new community cinemas.
Good Reads
- Two international festival reports have caught our eye: A Rabbit’s Foot takes us inside Anafi International Film Festival, hosted in an unusual location – on a picturesque Greek island, while Corin Hardy (Whistle, The Nun) shares his experience at Mykolaichuk Open Film Festival in Ukraine.
- Imran Perretta spoke to The Guardian about his debut feature ISH, a coming-of-age drama set and filmed in Luton, ahead of its Luton premiere, which kicked off Film Hub South East’s SPOTLIGHT Luton project.
- Arts Professional explores how accessibility and good design are the same thing when it comes to your digital presence.
- Simon Ward pays tribute to Tony Rayns and his tireless work to promote independent cinema around the world for the ICO blog.
- Also on the ICO blog, our team shares their highlights from Il Cinema Ritrovato in Bologna, and David Baldwin from Midlands Arts Centre in Birmingham shares learnings from Expanding The Frame, their project to embed accessibility into their cinema programme.
- Time Out celebrates the transformation of beloved Clapton cinema shop Ümit and Son, which now features a micro screening room and projection workshops alongside an archive of film treasures.
- With the rise of video essays, BFI share how they archive digital materials together with other important forms of moving image.
- Filmmaker magazine celebrates the reopening of community-run cinema La Clef in Paris after years of legal battles, fundraising campaigns, and even activists occupying the building following its closure in 2018.
- As The Odyssey maintains a strong box office hold, Sight and Sound shares 10 great Greek myth adaptations to watch, while Vulture highlights how no one sells tickets like Christopher Nolan.
- After experiencing barriers, extensive wait times, and cuts to her Access to Work allowance, Jenny Sealey, joint CEO and artistic director of Graeae, discusses how the arts sector needs better disability allowances.
- 25-year-old projectionist Patrick Welsh spoke to the BBC about his experience working at Bristol’s Watershed Cinema and his passion for keeping 35mm film screenings alive for future generations.
Header image credit: Still from Traces. Part of the BFI NETWORK Short Film Package, Small Wonders.