- Do you know about and love film, but want to gain the practical skills and detailed knowledge to become a truly expert programmer?
- Do you want to start a film club, run a community cinema or deliver a festival?
- Do you want your CV to jump to the top of the pile for film jobs?
- Do you work in film and want to develop the skills needed to deliver exciting and innovative programmes?
- Do you want to know how to deliver specialist programmes or bring underrepresented groups into your cinema?
Cultural Cinema Exhibition – the ICO’s flagship training course – is the definitive way to take your film career to the next level.
About the course
In the 20-year history of the course, alumni have achieved top jobs at the BFI, Picturehouse, Curzon Cinemas, Watershed, Sheffield DocFest, Altitude, the Barbican and film festivals around the world. Now in its twelfth edition, it is recognised as a top-tier qualification by industry leaders and marks you out as someone with the knowledge to make a real contribution to the exhibition sector.
Whether you currently work in cinema or festival programming, film curation, artists’ moving image, film education or specialist film, film marketing or audience development; or you want to in the future, this course is comprehensive, practical and will immeasurably boost your skills and knowledge.
You will learn:
- How the film industry works, from key figures including producers, sales agents, programmers, exhibitors, digital distributors and more
- How to market a film, from press campaigns to copy and from digital platforms to traditional media
- The technical aspects of film, so you can keep the magic of the big screen alive
- How you can create and build audiences for archive film, artists’ moving image, international cinema, event cinema and alternative content
- How cinema programming really works: negotiating, securing rights, balancing different types of film, scheduling and understanding release windows
You will gain:
- A complete toolkit for understanding audiences, including increasing access for young people, children, LGBTQ+, disabled and Black, Asian and ethnically diverse audiences
- A valuable network of peers based around the UK
How is it taught?
Cultural Cinema Exhibition is taught through presentations and panel discussions from industry experts, practical workshops (including a final group project incorporating everything you’ve learned on the course), screenings, peer discussion and networking opportunities.
The course takes place over six days, comprising five days of intensive training and one day of film screenings. Please see a draft schedule below:
Day One, Sunday 12 January
- Preview screenings
Day Two, Monday 13 January
- Introduction to film exhibition
- The practicalities of film programming
- Print rights & research
Day Three, Tuesday 14 January
- Distribution panel with Q&A
- Film marketing case studies
- Programming artist’s moving image
Day Four, Wednesday 15 January
- Introduction to audience development
- Introduction to press & PR
- Film journalism panel with Q&A
Day Five, Thursday 16 January
- Audience development case studies
- Archive film screening
- Programming strategies for archive film
Day Six, Friday 17 January
- What’s next for film exhibition? Panel discussion
- Project presentations
“Wonderful experience, range of speakers and participants. Best I have found in terms of relevance and possibility for progression, at the same time as knowledge gaining. Would highly recommend.”
100% of delegates from our last edition would recommend the course
Who is this course for?
- Professionals with one to three years’ experience who are forging a career in the cultural cinema sector, including programming, education, marketing and audience development
- Any film industry professionals who currently work in management, programming, education, marketing, administration or fundraising at independent cinemas, film festivals, film societies and pop-ups
- People who currently work in exhibition who want to build an audience for cultural cinema at their venue
- People who run, or who have a strong desire to run, grassroots film societies and venues
- This course is predominantly aimed at UK exhibitors, but international applications will be considered. In previous editions, people from Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal have attended and highly rated the programme. All sessions will be conducted in English, so you must have a high level of fluency in written and spoken English.
“The course brought everything into focus bringing lots of new ideas and consolidating my knowledge. It was all inspiring and I have a much clearer plan of how to refine what I already do and what else I should be doing.”
Information session
Interested in finding out more about the course? In this informal Zoom conversation ICO Director, Catharine Des Forges and Head of Cinemas, David Sin provided more detail about the course and answered questions from people registered for the session.
Bursaries
A limited number of bursaries of up to £250 are available to individuals based outside of London to help cover the costs of travel and accommodation. If you would like to apply for a bursary, please complete the additional form as part of the application process.
Remember that many of the regional/national Film Hubs can offer exhibitors bursary support for training. Please ensure that you have contacted your local Film Hub to apply for support as early as possible.
Payment plan
The fee for the course is £2,000. If you would like to pay this in instalments then you may do so, but there is an earlier application deadline of Friday 27 September 2024.
The payment plan will be as follows:
- Payment 1 (£700) – Due Monday 7 October
- Payment 2 (£700) – Due Monday 4 November
- Payment 3 (£600) – Due Monday 2 December
Speakers
Co-led by Catharine Des Forges (Director, ICO) and David Sin (Head of Cinemas, ICO), the course will feature a range of speakers with sessions focusing on:
- Programming – Exploring both the commercial and curatorial sides
- Distribution – Highlighting the role distributors play in the film value chain
- Marketing – Understanding how marketing can help you do new and ambitious things
- Festivals – Learning their key role in the exhibition sector, and how to programme your own
- Specialisms – How to create and build audiences for all kinds of films, such as programming for children and young audiences, archive film, artist moving image, short film and feminist cinema.
- The future of the UK film industry – What’s in store for the UK film industry over the next few years?
Catharine Des Forges
Director, Independent Cinema Office
Catharine is Director of the Independent Cinema Office. She founded it in 2003 and continues to lead on the overall strategy and development of the company. Prior to founding the ICO, she worked at the BBC, the BFI, Arts Council England, as a Senior Programmer at the National Film Theatre, programmed the Encounters Film Festival in Bristol and worked as a freelance film programmer both in the UK and internationally. She has an MA in Film & Television from the University of London, has lectured in film and media at a number of UK universities, and is an experienced moderator and Q&A host as well as a contributor to a number of UK newspapers and magazines. She sits on the Steering Group for London’s Screen Archives, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an advisory board member for Be the Business and a voting member of BAFTA.
David Sin
Head of Cinemas, Independent Cinema Office
David has worked in the independent film sector for over 25 years, as a programmer, distributor and consultant. His career has included spells as Director of Cinema at the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA), where he acquired and released films by directors such as Abbas Kiarostami, Jia Zhangke and Roy Andersson and launched J-Horror in the UK with Ring; as Head of Content at the BFI overseeing the Institute’s distributed films; and as the first Coordinator of Lincolnshire Cinemas, which became a model for rural cinema provision.
Accommodation
YHA Thameside
Approximate rate per night: £40 – £80
Distance to CitizenM Tower of London: 2.2 miles
Premier Inn London Tower Bridge
Approximate rate per night: £110 – £120
Distance to CitizenM Tower of London: 0.2 miles
CitizenM Tower of London
Approximate rate per night: £150 – £160
Premier Inn London City (Tower Hill)
Approximate rate per night: £90 – £100
Distance to CitizenM Tower of London: 0.2 miles
Travelodge London Central Aldgate East
Approximate rate per night: £80 – £90
Distance to CitizenM Tower of London: 0.3 miles
Travelodge London Central Tower Bridge
Approximate rate per night: £100 – £110
Distance to CitizenM Tower of London: 0.2 miles
FAQs
How do I apply to attend the course?
Applications for the 2025 edition of the Cultural Cinema Exhibition training programme are open until Friday 15 November 2024. If you would like to pay the course fee in instalments, there is an earlier application deadline of Friday 27 September.
You can find all the necessary information at the bottom of this page.
Are organisations/individuals from outside the UK eligible to apply?
This course is predominantly aimed at UK exhibitors, but international applications will be considered. In previous editions, people from Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal have attended and highly rated the programme.
What is included within the course fee?
The fee for attending Cultural Cinema Exhibition 2025 is £2,000.
This fee includes all the course materials you’ll need, as well as lunch, tea & coffee for every day of the programme.
We will also organise a course dinner and an additional screening during the programme, with more information to be provided closer to the time.
How long will it take for decisions to be made on my application?
Decisions will be communicated no later than two weeks after the deadline for applications.
How will the decisions be made on applications?
Each application will be assessed by two members of senior ICO staff, who will then discuss and finalise the decision.
Is it possible to pay for the course fees in instalments?
Yes, you can pay for your course fees in instalments.
If you would like to pay in instalments, there is an earlier application deadline of Friday 27 September 2024.
The payment plan will be as follows:
- Payment 1 (£700) – Due Monday 7 October
- Payment 2 (£700) – Due Monday 4 November
- Payment 3 (£600) – Due Monday 2 December
Who should I contact if I have any further questions?
If you have any further questions about the course, then please get in touch with us via email at the following address: training@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk
How to apply
To apply for Cultural Cinema Exhibition 2025, please complete the following Google Form:
Cultural Cinema Exhibition 2025 Application Form
By signing in with a Google Account, you will have the ability to save your progress and come back to the form at a later date.
If you would like to fill out an application form in Microsoft Word, please email us at training@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk and we will arrange for a Word document to be sent to you.
The standard deadline for applications is Friday 15 November 2024. If you would like to pay the course fee in instalments, there is an earlier application deadline of Friday 27 September.
To apply for a travel bursary, please complete the bursary section of the application form, which can be found on the final page. Bursaries are limited, so early applications are encouraged.
Criteria
- Professionals with one to three years’ experience who are forging a career in the cultural cinema sector, including programming, education, marketing and audience development
- Any film industry professionals who currently work in management, programming, education, marketing, administration or fundraising at independent cinemas, film festivals, film societies and pop-ups
- People who currently work in exhibition who want to build an audience for cultural cinema at their venue
- People who run, or who have a strong desire to run, grassroots film societies and venues
- This course is predominantly aimed at UK exhibitors, but international applications will be considered. In previous editions, people from Estonia, Finland, Germany, Italy, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain and Portugal have attended and highly rated the programme
All sessions will be conducted in English, so you must have a high level of fluency in written and spoken English.
If you have any further queries about eligibility, please email us on training@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk