Screening Days

ICO Screening Days - November 2019

09/11/2019 - 11/11/2019

Showroom Workstation, Sheffield

We’re delighted to be returning to the Showroom in Sheffield for our autumn event this 9 – 11 November 2019.

We’ll be screening the best independent cinema set for release over the following months so you can pack your programme with great discoveries to entice new audiences and thrill existing ones.

See the full schedule here.

Registration

Registration for this event is now closed.

If you have any queries about your registration, please read our FAQ or contact us at info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk or on 0207 636 7120.

Bursaries

The regional Film Hubs may be able to offer support in the form of bursaries towards fees, travel and accommodation for their members to attend Screening Days. For further information and/or links to contact your local Hub to enquire, see below:

To stay updated, join our mailing list.

Please email info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk with any queries.

“Great organisation and great programme. An excellent opportunity to meet delegates from all over the country and share ideas”

Screening Days delegate

Travel

The event will be held at the Showroom Cinema which is on Paternoster Row in Sheffield’s Cultural Industries Quarter, just across the road from Sheffield railway station and 10 minutes’ walk from the main bus interchange on Pond Street.

To plan your journey by rail visit www.nationalrail.co.uk or call 08457 48 49 50

To plan your journey by bus visit www.travelsouthyorkshire.com or call 01709 515151

There is some on street parking on Paternoster Row and Shoreham Street and car parks in the vicinity include Q Park on Charles Street, Sydney Street Car Park and Sheffield Station Car Park.

For more parking info see www.sheffield.gov.uk/roads/travel/driving/parking/city-centre.html

Hotels

Hotel Novotel Sheffield Centre
Approximate rate per night: £56 – £98
Distance to Showroom: 0.2 miles

Jurys Inn Sheffield
Approximate rate per night: £68 – £99
Distance to Showroom: 0.3 miles

Best Western Cutlers Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £59 – £83
Distance to Showroom: 0.4 miles

Mercure St Paul’s Hotel and Spa
Approximate rate per night: £119 – £199
Distance to Showroom: 0.5 miles

Premier Inn Sheffield City Centre
Approximate rate per night: £50 – £60
Distance to Showroom: 0.6 miles

Ibis Sheffield City
Approximate rate per night: £43 – £54
Distance to Showroom: 0.7 miles

Copthorne Sheffield Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £72 – £92
Distance to Showroom: 0.7 miles

Holiday Inn Royal Victoria
Approximate rate per night: £94 – £95
Distance to Showroom: 0.8 miles

Sheffield B&B
Approximate rate per night: £35 – £45
Distance to Showroom: 0.9 miles

Harley Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £39 – £59
Distance to Showroom: 1.0 miles

Hilton Sheffield Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £95 – £104
Distance to Showroom: 1.4 miles

Sheffield Metropolitan
Approximate rate per night: £50 – £64
Distance to Showroom: 1.5 miles

Leopold Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £94 – £105
Distance to Showroom: 1.9 miles

NB. The ICO does not endorse any of the above hotels.

Why attend?

Exhibitors who attend Screening Days know the difference it makes.

That’s why staff and volunteers of cinemas, mixed arts venues, film festivals, and film societies attend again and again. But if you haven’t come before, here’s five reasons Screening Days could be invaluable for you…

  • Screening Days make your programming decisions easier: watching our amazing selection of the upcoming films lets you get clear on whether a film is right for your venue and how to make it work best in your programme.
  • Screening Days are efficient: finding time to watch films in the busy and divided schedule of a film programmer is hard. Screening Days lets you cover a lot of ground with amazing access.
  • Screening Days simplify marketing: knowing what audience you’re trying to target becomes much easier once you know the film directly and who in your community would want to come and see it.
  • Screening Days gives you access to key industry players: we often have representatives from the BFI, Cinema for All, Film Audience Network and Filmbankmedia, as well as many major distributors in attendance. Screening Days is your chance to hear about funding, technology and opportunities that can mean just as much as what you put on the screen itself.
  • Screening Days is a forum to share knowledge: gathering together this number of exhibitors in one place means you can keep up with developments from peers and learn from what is working for them.

FAQ

How do I register on the day?

Registration will be held from 8.30am each morning, at which you will be issued with a badge for the day(s) you are attending. This will be your entry pass into all screenings. The registration area will be staffed by the ICO throughout the event.  We’ll be on hand to offer advice on topics including programming, distribution, audience development and more.

Where are the screenings held?

Films will be shown in cinemas 1, 2 and 4 at Showroom on Saturday and Sunday, and in cinemas 1, 2 and 3 at Showroom on Monday.

Will there be any other activities in addition to the screenings?

Yes! There will be a drinks reception on Saturday evening for delegates to meet and network with fellow colleagues and catch up on the all-important films of the day. Other additional activities will be confirmed by email closer to date.

How accessible is Showroom?

Showroom is keen to be as welcoming, inclusive and accessible as possible for all customers, audiences, staff and visitors. A sloped ramp leads to the main cinema entrance which is electronically assisted. Lift access is provided to cinemas at the lower level. All 4 screens have level access. Accessible toilet facilities are available on the lower level and within the café/bar. Guide dogs and hearing dogs are very welcome. For further details, click here.

How do you select films for Screening Days?

We work closely with distributors to select independent, world and art house cinema that will be released in the following quarter. We focus on titles that are unlikely to have a vast marketing budget so need the keen curatorial eye and advance notice that a viewing at Screening Days can provide for your programme. We also occasionally include higher profile titles, particularly in the lead-up to awards season, which we believe delegates will be keen to see in order to assess suitability for their programmes. Our goal is to provide you with the opportunity to see the widest range of films so you’re able to broaden programmes in your venues, and we hope the Screening Days programme reflects that.

Why can't you release the schedule earlier?

We always try to finalise the schedule as soon as possible so you can plan ahead. Unfortunately, we are limited in how far in advance we can do so. Because distributors offering us their films often haven’t determined their schedule in advance, or are waiting on delivery of the materials, we often receive final confirmations quite close to the event. Then, in order to evenly space the films across the different screens, we need to carefully schedule the films, which takes time.

See the schedule here.

Why aren’t there more or longer breaks?

We try to give you as many breaks as possible between films and usually have morning, lunch and afternoon breaks, but are restricted by the availability of the screens and the length of the films. Most cinemas can’t take out their evening public screenings due to conditions set by distributors, and so they don’t disappoint their local (paying) audience. This means we can only screen films between 9am – 5.30pm. We try to keep in mind that the main purpose of the event is for you to be able to see as many films as possible.

Why can only organisers, marketers and programmers attend?

The purpose of Screening Days is to encourage strong audiences for a more diverse selection of films. Programmers, organisers (e.g. the most senior person in a community screen, members of the selection committee of a film society) and marketers are the people in a best position to both select films and advocate for these films in their venues. We are often oversubscribed, so this is the fairest way to ensure that key staff get the opportunity to attend.

Why can only four members of my organisation attend?

Our Screening Days events have been selling out for the past few years and starting at this event we are now limiting the number of passes per any one organisation to four. This is to ensure that the largest possible number of organisations can attend Screening Days to maximise their benefit across the film exhibition sector.

As we only screen three films at any one time, you will still be able to see all of the titles shown.

Attendees must also be engaged in one of the following roles within their organisation: programming, marketing, education, audience development, or on the selection committee of a film society/club.

How frequent do my screenings need to be for me to attend?

Our funders for Screening Days, in addition to the distributors that lend us their films, stipulate that exhibitors must hold 12 or more screenings per year to attend (and must have done so in the year to date).

Is there any support available for me to attend?

Your regional Film Hub may be able to offer support to their members to attend, in the form of a bursary towards fees, travel and accommodation. For further information and/or links to contact your local Hub to enquire, see below:

When will you be hosting the next Screening Days and where?

The next Screening Days events are:

Sign up to our mailing list to stay up to date.

Can I tweet or share reviews or comments on the films in public?

No. While we appreciate your enthusiasm (or otherwise) for films you see at Screening Days, the terms that we receive the films under completely prohibit any social media or film forum discussion of films in the Screening Days programme, however positive it is! Distributors monitor social media channels for discussion of the films. Please do feel free to discuss the films in person with other delegates, and if you’d like to talk about the event in general on social media you can find us at @ICOtweets #ScreeningDays.

Terms and conditions

ICO Screening Days is an industry event for programmers, organisers, audience developers, education officers or marketers from cinemas, mixed arts venues, film societies, film festivals and any other venue whose primary purpose is exhibition of films to the public. Please note that passes are limited to four per organisation and are strictly non-transferable.

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