Filmmaker Jonny Dry sits down with Tomisin Adepeju, filmmaker and founder of Dailies. Tracing the organisation’s evolution, Adepeju reflects on the need for cinema spaces which invite and embrace community; a philosophy that has seen Dailies quickly become a vehicle not only for film screenings, but a space to “foster connections, inspire conversations, and spark creativity.”
Before anything else happens, Tomisin jumps up sharp, “why have you decided come down tonight?” He poses the question directly to the person before him who freezes, eyes wide. Murmured conversations fall away, an uncertain silence: the auditorium is still fully lit, the audience has left polite gaps between each other, the film hasn’t started. No one wants to go first.
At first glance, panel discussions, Q&As, and master classes offering depth and dimension on a new release or classic are nothing new. In this regard Dailies, founded by British Nigerian filmmaker Tomisin Adepeju, is no different; it tours London’s independent cinemas, showcasing established and unknown titles, bringing audiences, filmmakers and venues together. Yet there’s a wonderful fluidity to a Dailies event – I met Tomisin in the empty bar of a hotel chain, London Pride cascading past the window outside, and we talked over where this comes from.
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The beginnings of Dailies
“When I was in university, I discovered the French New Wave and realised that all these filmmakers that I loved, [Francois] Truffaut, [Jean-Luc] Godard, [Èric] Rohmer, all of them were also critics. Peter Bogdanovich for example was a critic for the New Yorker in his 20s, and his writings on films by Orson Welles, by John Ford, were equally profound and I just thought, how is he able to so beautifully assess the power and beauty of these works? Film for them was a live experience. They wanted to share that experience, firstly, in their writings, and then in their films.”
Tomisin speaks about watching films at home; shorts, long-form narrative, documentary. As a cinephile it’s a daily routine, but it is not enough to do this alone. Sharing, discussing, and communicating that passion is something he continually explores – Dailies is just one part of that.
“Film for me is a way of life, I deeply love it so much. It isn’t enough to just make films, I want to share that love. And Dailies is tied to that, not just showing films but curating an experience.”
Dailies’ approach is different, it puts the audience first, bringing them into the film and giving them ownership of the space. It’s done this since it took over a London warehouse in 2018 and put its audience on sofas. Here, in its first iteration (known then as the Independent Film Club) Tomisin took over a space which people were also living in, making a gathering which was inseparable from the community in which it existed. Every event sold out. Through word of mouth, community outreach and Tomisin’s own filmmaking network, Dailies established a reputation for screening challenging work you couldn’t see anywhere else, and hosting nights in which the audience was an active and essential participant, not just the voyeur. Tomisin is clear about this, “If you screen quality work, the audience will find it.”
“For me it’s about living and breathing film. When we had our first event in 2018 it started through just wanting to share films; something I had made but also the work of others. Within two days I had 10 films and chose 4, all revolving around similar themes of identity, love and death. We only had 25 people that first night, but we had an incredible discussion afterwards. And it was actually during that I thought, wow, I actually enjoy talking about filmmaking. And I think that’s the key point, for me it’s not just about showing the work. It’s the conversations around them. The discussion itself was so in depth, and very multifaceted that I thought, I actually felt so enriched by the discussion and everybody else who was there.”
Fostering shared experiences
As we talk Tomisin continually refers to ‘immersive’. Dailies wraps its community into film, its craft and its themes, and this informs the way Dailies reaches its audiences. Reaching out through venues, social media (TikTok, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook) and direct street marketing as well as to film clubs and societies, Tomisin has found and created an audience that is looking for the essential experience of sitting in dark rooms with strangers and giving yourself over to a picture. Its marketing is an extension of the event format; encouraging discussion, reflection, community and shared experience.
The format has grown into short film programmes, feature screenings and workshops. Venues have also changed: jazz bars, BFI Southbank, as well as independent cinemas such as Peckham Plex, Rix Mix and Lexi. Yet despite this, events continue to foreground the audience in both the film and the venue.
“I think I just break the ice. I think there can be an invisible wall between the host and the audience. I’ve been to so many film events and they can be very awkward. You can feel isolated. So, the interactive element was really making sure that everyone feels welcome. And what I do at the start is ask people who they are, I want them to tell me about themselves.”
“I might say; ‘okay, go turn left to the person next to you and ask them a question. Ask them who they are.’ Or I might ask openly. At first there are no hands raised up. But the moment the first person starts speaking, suddenly 30 hands are up. Because seeing somebody talk about who they are, their struggles, their frustrations, their goals and dreams, it encourages others to say, you know what, they’ve been vulnerable, so I can do the same. It creates a very healthy space where people feel very free and open to share.”
That enthusiasm is still there. Tomisin often begins the night amongst the audience, down off the stage, seemingly everywhere at once. He is with you as a fan as much a filmmaker, and very quickly the events become less a screening and more a book club or an open mic night. Intimate, personal and grounded in the venue.
A dark room with people you do know
“I try and make sure that I respect each space and community. So if we’re in East London, or South London or West London, I’m thinking about what films would work best in each venue. Sometimes people do travel, but I want to make sure that the language of the film really is reflected in the space the film is played in.”
“I’m really trying to consider what ties these films together. So perhaps love, identity, grief, family, cultural clashes. But it has to transcend that. When I started out in East London I screened a lot of stuff that didn’t work and I started to understand why.”
He reflects, “Are you exploring very heavy subject matter? How long are these films? Are you having breaks in between? Are you allowing your audience to process and sit with what they’re seeing? Am I programming too many films? There were times when I was programming six very dramatic, very heavy films, and it just didn’t work. People felt so I think broken by the end that they could not properly engage with the discussion. But even if I was to imagine comedy with drama, what is the balance between humour and weighty issues?”
“I know on the surface” admits Tomisin, “you’re showing films and you’re doing a kind of discussion afterwards; on the surface, it doesn’t look that different. But it is when you’re in the audience, it is different. It is very different. It’s a different experience.”
“[Film is] this immersive world and it got me thinking, if we embraced this, what could this mean for what we do as an industry?”
“It’s a very powerful communal experience where you’re in this dark room with people you don’t know. But with Dailies you now know them. Because we start with the immersive so you’re with people that you know; friends, new friends and you are able to feel the emotions translated from these films as a group.”
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Back in the auditorium, not long after he disrupted established cinema etiquette, Tomisin is still standing, watching intently as a microphone is passed around. Things have relaxed, people get to their feet, explaining what’s brought them here. Some share a film that’s stayed with them and people listen. Then the lights go down, the film screens, and after a full and frank discussion; personal experiences, themes, questions, criticisms. At the end the audience don’t just file out, they get up and speak to each other.
Jonny Dry is a filmmaker, and founder of Studio Erma. X: @Jonny_Dry IG: @_jonnydry
To find out more about Dailies, including information about all upcoming events, head to their website or social media channels (IG/X: @Dailiesfilm).