Film societies

Film societies have long provided one of the most vital forces in independent film exhibition in the UK. The film society movement has continued to ensure that innovative, diverse film programming takes place in areas of the country where cinemas either don't exist or where there are few alternatives to the mainstream.

The ICO works closely with film societies across the UK and especially with the British Federation of Film Societies (BFFS).

If you are thinking of starting a film society or would like information on screening DVDs in public, please visit our Introduction to Non-theatrical Exhibition.

The BFFS also offer a number of useful resources. There is a free guide to starting a film society, which can be downloaded from their website www.bffs.org.uk/resources/advice and also their newly published Community Cinema Sourcebook which can be purchased from the BFFS.

ICO Services for Film Societies

The UK Film Council has funded the ICO to provide film programming advice services to all film societies in the UK. These are split across three areas:

Film programming services

The ICO provides a dedicated email enquiry service to the non-theatrical sector offering advice on:

  • Print availability
  • Release patterns
  • Hire terms
  • Archive material - programming and exhibition
  • Formats
  • Rights tracking information
  • Referrals to specialised organisations
  • Accessing publicity materials

If you have an enquiry, please email enquiries@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk and we ask that you allow a week for your query to be answered in order to enable us to resource the service effectively.

For distributor contact details for booking films see the below:

ICO Screening Days

We organise special film preview events twice a year for film societies, independent cinemas, film festivals and all other independent exhibitors. The aim of these events is to give exhibitors the chance to see films before their theatrical release, so they can make informed choices about which films to include in their upcoming programmes. We select up to 25 key forthcoming releases from UK distributors and screen them over three days, like a mini film-festival. The events are held twice a year, one in the spring in London and one in the autumn in a different region.

Forthcoming ICO Screening Days | November 2010

The next ICO Screening Days will be held from the 13 - 15 November 2010, at the Cornerhouse in Manchester. Keep an eye on the ICO Screening Days section for the latest news.

Previous ICO Screening Days | April 2010

The last ICO Screening Days was held at the BFI Southbank, London. It was our most successful event to date with 300 delegates from over 110 venues, film festivals and film societies. We screened 22 pre-release films, 6 short films and had representatives present from the key theatrical and non-theatrical distributors. For more information on the event, including booking contacts for films and images, visit the April 2010 page.

Industry Advocacy

Comprehensive consultation with distributors in order to seek industry standards on such issues as:

  • Non-theatrical windows
  • DVD licensing
  • Marketing materials
  • Transport strategies