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
- Tickets are now available for Autumn Screening Days, coming to Showroom Sheffield from 14 to 15 November. Last year’s programme included previews of Hamnet, If I Had Legs I’d Kick You, No Other Choice, Nouvelle Vague, The Secret Agent, The Voice of Hind Rajab, and many more and this year’s titles will be revealed soon.
- Free for exhibitors, book our two packages of BFI NETWORK Short Films: one for family audiences (ages 5+), the other aimed at young adults (aged 18-30). As part of our work as the lead organisation for Film Hub South East, each features work from emerging filmmakers from the South East and includes BBFC age certification and a marketing pack.
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Registration is currently open to join the International Film Festival Network. For just £100 + VAT/€120 a year, film festivals can access exclusive meet-up events at major festivals, online talks and training sessions.
- March 2027 marks the 25th anniversary of the UK’s biggest rural film festival, Borderlines! This year will be Festival Director Naomi Vera-Sanso’s last. The search for a new Director will begin in December, but you’d like to find out more information now, please email Steve Freer, chair of the Borderlines board.
- Voting is open for BIFA Cinema of the Year, and we’re proud that eight ICO clients have thrown their hat in the ring for the award! Good luck to ActOne, Electric Palace, JW3, Nova, Phoenix Leicester, Tyneside Cinema, Warwick Arts Centre, and Wellington Orbit, alongside all the nominees.
- Share your insights on film exhibition by pitching a blog piece to the ICO! Check our guidelines and send a short outline of your idea to info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.
- Looking for your next career move? 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
- The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) is inviting the public and organisations to give their opinions on where and how National Lottery Good Causes funding should be spent. At the moment, film receives only roughly 2.7% of total Good Causes funding. Help ensure the film exhibition industry is heard by submitting before 12 noon, Wednesday 23 September.
- Registration is now open for the 11th European Arthouse Cinema Day on 22 November 2026! Open to all cinemas worldwide, it allows you to access free online workshops and to promote your venue through the international campaign, while celebrating in the way that best suits your audience, ambitions, and resources.
- Film Hub North has released A Guide to Sustainable Procurement, a new BFI FAN resource to help cinemas, festivals and screen organisations make more sustainable supplier decisions.
- Register by Friday 4 September to become an Arts Emergency mentor in 2027. Linking people who work in creative and cultural industries with underrepresented young people to reduce barriers to entry into the sector, you will be matched with a young person for a once-a-month mentoring meeting.
- Applications are open for a National Lottery Heritage Grant until noon on 12 November. Awarding £250,000 to £10 million to fund projects that connect people and communities to UK heritage, it could cover anything from volunteer expenses and staff training to capital works and conservation to the acquisition of heritage assets.
- The Morrisons Foundation’s Connecting Communities Grant Funding offers up to £20,000 towards capital projects that improve and sustain community spaces, and applications are open on a rolling basis.
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WFTV’s mentoring programme is accepting applications until 5pm Friday 4 September. The six-month scheme is open to mid-career (5 to 7 years’ experience) women in film, television, and digital media, and it offers one-to-one mentoring with senior industry professionals, peer-to-peer training, and bespoke career development workshops.
- The Royston Venue, building on the legacy of the Royston Picture Palace, is a new creative venue offering cinema, live entertainment, community activities, workshops, talks, and private events for residents and visitors alike. Ahead of opening later this year, the team are keen to hear from potential collaborators. Contact their Communications Officer, George Jones-Clothier (communications.officer@roystontowncouncil.gov.uk) and Venue Manager, Lydia Endersby (venue.manager@roystontowncouncil.gov.uk), if you’re interested in knowing more.
- Apply by Monday 7 September to get involved with Rip It Up, the 2026 BFI FAN UK-wide season, celebrating UK youth rebellion, culture and rebellion on screen.
- Book now for Film London’s Distributor Slate Days 2026. Taking place at BFI IMAX in London on Wednesday 23 and Thursday 24 September, it is an opportunity to hear from UK distributors on upcoming theatrical releases, preview exclusive trailers, and connect with industry partners.
- Until October 2026, or when funding is fully allocated, the CARES Community Buildings Fund is offering grants up to £80,000 for 80% of eligible costs to help community organisations reduce their building’s energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions.
- Cinema Rediscovered’s UK and Ireland-wide touring programme is available to take part in from now until January. Following its 10th anniversary edition, discover how you could host screenings from their archive film lineup and explore additional promotional and financial support.
- CultureLab NL takes place on 27 October in Amsterdam and invites leaders to unite for a day of discussion and connection as part of a broader celebration of the arts community.
- Join the Into Film Festival 2026 from 6 to 27 November and be part of a UK-wide movement to inspire young audiences, celebrate the future of cinema and engage the next generation of cinema-goers.
- Extend your programme beyond the screen with Film Hub Midlands’ new Broader Screen Content resources, featuring toolkits and insights.
- Aesthetica is hosting Reignite XVI on Wednesday 23 September at City Screen Picturehouse York. Expect talks, networking, and a special film screening to explore how to best support the screen industry in the North.
- New titles such as Arco have been added to the BFI FAN Family and Children Film list, offering a curated selection of family-friendly films and key information to programme them.
- Heritage Adapts is inviting heritage organisations to join their new national programme for climate resilience, helping cultural venues understand and plan for climate risks.
Good Reads
- Glasgow Film Theatre has shared Programme Notes on Clio Barnard’s filmography, written by Rachel Pronger, writer, curator, and co-founder of Invisible Women.
- A Rabbits Foot look at a quirky new cinema inside a shoebox! IDEA and Reebok collaborated on the fully functional mini cinema, complete with curtains and a sound system, for a screening of their Super8 film They Go In The Dark.
- Film Comment explores the pleasures and perils of intimacy by examining two new releases: Jane Schoenbrun’s Teenage Sex and Death at Camp Miasma and Gregg Araki’s I Want Your Sex.
- With I Love Boosters already out in America and set to release in the UK next month, Hammer and Hope examine how director Boots Riley’s communist ideologies appear in his films.
- The Hollywood Reporter speaks to two-time Oscar-winning film director and screenwriter Asghar Farhadi at the Sarajevo Film Festival on politics and cinema’s capacity to bring communities together.
- Indie Wire celebrate and dives into the restoration of Ken Russell’s The Devils, one of 2026’s most anticipated releases.
- Little White Lies examines the revival of silent cinema coming from a new group of young programmers in London.
- Take a look at L.A. through the lens of David Lynch, the infamous filmmaker who used the city as a muse, as Los Angeles Times share his favourite dinners and landmarks.
- The National Film and Television School’s Film Studies, Programming and Curation Students are bringing new film seasons to independent cinemas across London, including The Garden Cinema, Genesis Cinema, ICA, Lexi Cinema, and Prince Charles Cinema.
Header image credit: Showroom Sheffield, where this year’s Autumn Screening Days takes place.