- We’re thrilled to be heading over to Newcastle’s Tyneside Cinema for our Autumn Screening Days this weekend! We hope to see you there, as well as at our Archive Screening Day which takes place at BFI Southbank on Thursday 29 November. It’s our one-day event dedicated to celebrating the magic of archive film so expect some brilliant talks and equally brilliantly restored archive treasures, such as The Great Victorian Moving Picture Show and the long-lost Korean rarity Tuition. Register by Friday 9 November and get your ticket for only £30 (including lunch, refreshments and our evening drinks reception)!
- Our BFI Comedy Genius tour just kicked off this week which means we’re touring twelve brilliant comedy titles across the UK until the end of January. How about screening the exquisite (and so, so funny!) Sidewalk Stories (pictured) or putting together an evening celebrating the unruly women of Pedro Almodóvar with Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown?
- Did you miss our The Personal is Political – The Films of Margarethe von Trotta launch at Barbican Centre earlier this month? Not a worry – we’re giving audiences across the UK the chance to see four of her films on the big screens across the UK this year. Find a venue and screening near you.
- Want to celebrate the best in new British filmmaking? Our short film programme South East Stories: New Filmmaking Talent is available for bookings from 23 November, after it premieres at Cambridge Film Festival and Cinecity Brighton.
- In ICO staff news, while our Marketing & Communications Manager Duncan heads over to Curzon Cinemas for a secondment (you lucky folk!), we’re currently looking for someone awesome to join our team for a year. Applications should arrive to the ICO office by 5pm on Monday 29 October.
ICO News
Opportunities
- In addition to our tour, there’s some amazing BFI Comedy Genius action happening across the UK until the end of January. Also, screening support is still available (for up to £1,500) for the Comedy Genius season.
- And we’re not the only ones bringing comedy to cinemas! The early bird deadline for submitting your film to the next LOCO Film Festival is 14 November.
- Do you dream of writing about cinema? International Film Festival Rotterdam is seeking international applicants for its Young Film Critics trainee programme that supports a new generation of young and upcoming voices in film criticism. Apply by 30 October.
- Submissions for the next Open City Documentary Festival are now open! They are looking for short, mid and feature length non-fiction films, short audio documentaries and cross media projects. Early bird deadline is 21 December.
- Into Film is planning a season of free film screenings for school pupils (aged 7-19) to celebrate LGBT+ history month and the 50th anniversary of Stonewall riots. Interested in hosting a screening next Feb-March? Check out the details.
- Cinema for All has launched their new exciting project Vote 100: Born a Rebel – celebrating 100 years of women at the ballot box. The project consists of a new short film which will be screened across North of England, and you can also get involved yourself by recording a short video to be entered back into the archived.
- Artists of London! Part of Film London Artists’ Moving Image Network (FLAMIN), FLAMIN Productions is putting £30,000 of production funding towards two new major moving image projects. Apply by 3 December for this great opportunity!
- Calling all aspiring Publicity Managers, Film Officers and Programmers: there’s a roster of great jobs up on our job listings right now.
Good reads
- We love this: tell The Guardian about your favourite small independent cinema in the UK and you could win a £200 hotel voucher. The more detailed, the better!
- “We know about ‘get your 30 minutes of exercise’ and ‘get your five-a-day fruit and veg’, but at the moment there is no equivalent for arts and culture.” Should arts be ‘on prescription’?
- “My memories of the film itself? The colours. And the sound! It was so clear, also warm.” The Guardian asked its readers to recall their experiences of seeing major movies at the cinema for the first time and they are just brilliant.
- Screen Daily reports on how top festivals are teaming up to support films and cut costs. We are all about festivals collaborating – it’s one of the reasons Developing Your Film Festival has been so successful – so this is really great news.
- “The thing about the Scala is that it was before its time.” Screen Daily remembers London’s legendary Scala cinema (1978-1993).
- “Low pay, a lack of work-life balance, limited opportunities for career development and the ongoing pressure to do more with less is creating an “increasingly high” risk of burnout among arts leaders”, reports Arts Professional.
- Inclusive Cinema is a new UK wide resource developed by the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) and designed to support screen exhibitors. Get browsing!
- UK cinema admissions have been on the rise this year and could reach best year since 1970.
- “Sophisticated data analysis is now enabling the streaming giants to see the commercial sense in commissioning “niche” shows that previously would have been swept under the table.” Read how big data is changing film and TV business.