Our regular monthly update featuring the latest news and opportunities for your cinema, festival or film society.
ICO News
- The deadline to register for in-person attendance to Autumn Screening Days is this Friday, 27 October! We’ve now confirmed the final programme of 25 films for the event, which includes All of Us Strangers, La Chimera, The New Boy, Robot Dreams and much more. We hope you can join us, either at Phoenix in Leicester (11-12 November) or online (13-19 November).
- In September we undertook a survey of theatrical exhibitors to gather evidence on the current financial health of the sector. We have now published the findings, which show that nearly half of venues forecast operating at a loss this financial year. Read the full survey results here.
- The International Film Festival Network (IFFN) is our new membership-based community of film festivals that aims to foster new partnerships and promote best practice and innovation among film festivals. Learn more here and join today!
- Looking for a space to work from? We have several desks available to rent in our office, located just a few minutes’ walk from London Bridge station. Take a look at the details and get in touch if you’d like to arrange a viewing.
- We’re looking to commission new writing for our blog. If you have an idea for an article about a current issue in film exhibition or a case study of good practice, then we’d love to hear from you! Read our guidelines to see some topics we’re interested in and information on how to submit your pitch.
- Did you know the ICO is a registered charity? All of our work is supported by the generosity of individuals and our partners, and we are now able to take donations via our website. All donations received will help us work towards our vision of all communities having access to a thriving independent cinema culture.
Opportunities & Resources
- As part of their commitment to increase support for creative and cultural freelancers, Arts Council England is running a survey to build a picture of the freelance workforce in all of the art forms they support. Take the survey by 31 October.
- Filmonomics — Reclaim The Frame’s flagship training programme for first-time feature writers, directors, producers of marginalised genders across the UK — is back for an eighth edition, and open for applications until 7 November.
- The Film and TV Charity is running a financial survey to gain information on the monetary situation of people working in our industry. The insights will be used to help the charity develop the support it offers the industry, as well as provide a longer-term picture of the financial circumstances of people working behind the scenes in film, TV and cinema.
- Leading figures from the UK documentary world including Kim Longinotto, Simon Chinn, Kat Mansoor & Orlando von Einsiedel have thrown their support behind the Documentary Film Council’s Open Letter, which is raising the alarm about the very serious challenges facing the independent doc sector and their urgent need for support.
- The Digital Culture Network has launched a new webinar series to support those new to the digital world or who would like to build on existing skills. Upcoming sessions will cover search engine optimisation, digital accessibility, data collection and more.
- There are currently roles available at Comscore Movies, London Short Film Festival, Watershed, Rich Mix, The Parade Cinema and more.
Good reads/watches/listens
- Our discussion with the late Terence Davies (video from 2022)
- Richard Roundtree – a life in pictures
- On the late Dariush Mehrjui’s pre-revolution landmark The Cow
- On Víctor Erice’s El sur
- Farewell to a British master of poetic cinema, Terence Davies
- Christina Newland on the car movies of the 1970s
- Martin Scorsese’s LFF Screen Talk
- Why Powell & Pressburger’s weird, confounding films are perfect for our times
- On the ‘gaslight noirs’ of the 1940s & 50s
- Fallen Leaves star Alma Pöysti on working with Aki Kaurismäki
- Welcome to the microplex – the hidden world of Britain’s 1500 tiny cinemas
- On the questions of belonging that haunt the films of Rhayne Vermette
- A Powell & Pressburger-inspired Spotify playlist (listen)
- Inside the restoration of Michael Powell’s shocking serial killer drama, Peeping Tom
- On some recently-restored films about immigration and displacement
- On Linda Darnell’s tough and timeless women
- On Anaïs Ngbanzo’s portrait of the pioneering avant-garde composer Julius Eastman
- Richard Brody speaks to Martin Scorsese about Killers of the Flower Moon
- A series of films celebrating the beauty of Gaza, its people, its struggle and its survival
- On Ninón Sevilla, star of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema
- Tindersticks’ Claire Denis soundtracks (listen)
- On a long-lost Brazilian silent film shot in the Amazon rainforest in 1918
- Walking, talking, & hurting feelings: On Nicole Holofcener’s everyday dramas
- Ken Loach looks back on a long career spent telling the stories of working people (listen)
Header image: Banel & Adama, screening as part of Autumn Screening Days