Opportunities
- The government has announced a £1.57bn investment to support the UK’s cultural, arts and heritage institutions through emergency grants and loans. Details on how independent cinemas can apply for funding will follow soon.
- The UKCA has released safeguarding guidance on reopening cinemas and running drive-ins and other outdoor screenings.
- The digitally reimagined version of Sundance London runs 7-9 August. Available to everyone in the UK, the online festival will feature three features, two panels and a programme of eight short films. ICO newsletter subscribers can get £5 off by entering the code ‘ICO20’ into the promotion box at checkout.
- This Way Up is the annual UK film exhibition innovation conference. This year they are inviting up to eight people to form a Development Forum, to support in the generation of ideas, content and future ambitions. The application deadline is 3 August.
- Film Feels Connected is a UK wide virtual cinema season designed to help audiences connect with cinemas, festivals and societies offering new events, seasons and screenings online during lockdown this summer. Join in with over 50 online events ranging from watch-alongs to film festivals, workshops and at-home creative activities.
- Applications for the Cinema For All Film Society of the Year Awards are now open. There are a range of awards to apply for depending on your group’s experiences and achievements. The awards will be presented at this year’s Community Cinema Conference, which is taking place online from 18-20 September.
- The Sheffield Doc/Fest Digital Industry pass is available to members of the film and digital art industries until 31 August. It gives access to an online library of over 70 films from the 2020 Official Selection, plus Q&A recordings, industry sessions & pitches.
- This month the BFI held Who We Are, a week-long series of events curated by film exhibition company We Are Parable designed to celebrate and spark debate around Black British film. The series has come to an end, but you can still catch up with the online events, articles, and film collections on the BFI website.
- Distributor Slate Days is back for 2020. This year’s event will take place online from 22-23 September. Slate Days builds links between exhibitors & distributors and showcases a range of future releases.
- Nominations for the 2020 National Lottery Awards are now open. This year the awards will honour individuals who have made an extraordinary impact in their community, especially during the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
- Current film job listings include positions at the BFI, MUBI, UK Jewish Film, Film Africa, Doc Society and Film London.
- The results of Indigo Ltd’s phase two audience survey have been released, providing further insights on how audiences are thinking about the arts at this point in the pandemic.
- The Locarno Film Festival has launched Heritage Online, a new digitally-based service dedicated to extending the outreach and distribution of heritage films through Video on Demand (VOD). The platform provides rights holders of heritage titles an opportunity to share their catalogue with VOD broadcasters.
- Each year Cinema For All conducts a survey of the community film exhibition sector to gather data on the groups they represent. The survey helps them best represent the needs and interests of community cinemas across the UK, you can complete it here.
- Into Film has launched a Black Lives Matter educational hub. The site features resources that explore racism and anti-blackness in a way that touches on curriculum subjects including English, History, Media Studies and more.
- The Film and TV Charity is offering five one-hour therapy sessions, for free, through their Support Line. The support line runs 24/7 and is accessible via phone, email or online chat.
- Bounce Cinema has announced a new programme to support and advance the careers of Black people into the film industry.
- Stagetext has released free digital subtitling training for those running online events during the Covid-19 crisis.
- The Audience Agency has designed a package of accessible support and insights to help organisations innovate in the face of Covid-19. Bounce Forwards provides advice, workshops, data & the latest research to help you plan for the future.
- The Heritage Alliance has launched an online portal that aims to make free digital skills training and support available to heritage organisations.
- The UK Film Festivals Federation is undertaking research to address a gap in knowledge about representation, access to opportunities and progression routes in UK film festival programming/curation. You can complete the survey here.
- ScreenSkills has launched an online training module on tackling harassment and bullying in the workplace. The module is designed to help you recognise and address harassment and bullying behaviours in yourself and others.
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The UKCA and ScreenSkills have launched an online learning module and assessment around Covid-19 for those working in cinema exhibition. The module explains the safety measures that may be in place in cinemas following the crisis.
Good reads
- On audience confidence levels in returning to the cinema.
- On cinemas reopening in Europe.
- On the rise and future of ‘virtual cinemas’.
- On the future of cinemas after Covid-19.
- On the challenges facing D/deaf audiences.
- On harassment and bullying in the workplace.
- On the practicalities of launching an on-demand platform.
- On organising online film events.
- On the challenges that lie ahead for UK cinemas.
- Werner Herzog on life in lockdown.
- On the female filmmakers working at the dawn of cinema.
- On the history of Borderlines Film Festival.
ICO News
- With cinemas now being able to open in the UK, we put together some additional safeguarding considerations for cinemas planning their reopening.
- We are planning a series of blog articles on manifestos for the future of the exhibition industry. We want to give a platform for people to share a vision of what’s not working now and what the future should be like. This is a paid opportunity (15p/word, 800-1000 words), please send a short pitch to info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.
- To aid those affected by the Covid-19 crisis, we have collated a list of the support & resources available to cinemas and people working within the exhibition sector.
- Our Developing Your Film Festival online course is available to access for free for six weeks. A great opportunity for film festival professionals looking to build on their existing skills and gain new insights from some of the industry’s leading experts.
- Our REACH: Stategic Audience Development online training course can be accessed for £50. If you’re looking to grow your audience and bring new people into your venue then this course is for you.
- We have lots of free online resources to help you evaluate your current strategy and consider future initiatives. These include our recently launched guide to Developing Visually Impaired Audiences and Green Cinema Toolkit.
- As ever, we’re here to help and support you. Get in touch at info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.