Open Call for Guest Curation – Archive Screening Days
Independent Cinema Office
Remote
Salary: £500 fee
Accessibility
If you’d like to view an Easy Read version of the Open Call you can find this here:
The ICO is looking for paid guest curators to provide session ideas for our next Archive Screening Days event. We are looking for ideas about how we can bring more audiences to classic films in cinemas as well help share the work in film archives. The event is scheduled to take place online and in-person 28 and 30 January 2025.
We want to hear from people inside and outside the film exhibition sector who want to develop curated sessions or film programme ideas.
We are looking for presentations, panels, case studies, provocations, discussions, workshops, debates, Q&As and film programmes that can tour to indie cinemas and more. These should be aimed at:
- increasing the number of people who engage with classic and repertory films in cinemas
- sharing the work held in regional, national and international archive with the public
- using film to share historical narratives, including from film history, but also from wider narratives
Does this sound like something you could help us with? Good! Then read on.
To find out more you can either read the longer guidance below or attend one of our information sessions.
- Thursday 3 October @ 7PM: Register at this link
- Tuesday 15 October @ 2:30PM: Register at this link
This is the best way to get up to speed on what we’re looking for from this open call, and you can put questions directly to our team. Even if you can’t attend during the time slot, if you register, you’ll receive the recording afterwards. You do not need to have your camera on to attend this session, and you can ask questions either on camera or via the chat function. Our sessions are captioned (live and on the recording) for those who use them.
If you want to ask a question about the open call, you can email info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk or duncan.carson@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.
What is Archive Screening Days?
Archive Screening Days comprises preview screenings and curated sessions designed to increase the number of people engaging with classic cinema and material from film archives in public exhibition (cinemas, festivals and community screenings).
What kinds of ideas are we looking for?
If your idea will help bring more people to classic cinema or tell narratives using archive film, we want to hear it. We would like session ideas to be ambitious, inspiring and engaging, as useful as possible for cinemas to apply, and to focus on specific topics rather than general concepts. There must be a practical outcome for cinemas to be able to apply in their own setting or a proposal that they can show in their own screens (with context as to how to grow audiences). This is a place for thought, but it should focus on practical changes and road-tested case studies.
Possible formats are panel discussions, case studies, provocations, discussion groups, workshops and more. We can also accept proposals for film screenings and film tours, but they should be reflective of an event you have already screened and can talk about as a case study or a tour you plan to bring to cinemas in the future.
A few areas your session could cover:
- Programming: screening a film and then speaking about the way you programmed it as an example of how it brought new audiences to classic cinema or told a new story using archive film.
- Marketing (e.g. how to reach people with archive film)
- Outreach and engagement programmes
- Routes to expanding the film canon through public engagement
- Practical sessions on the complexities of archive film (e.g. researching film rights, working with film prints)
Take a look at the most recent editions of Archive Screening Days to get an idea of what kind of sessions we’ve hosted (but remember that expanding our frame of reference is why we’re hosting an open call):
A few examples of sessions we have hosted from our open call for this event:
The Borders Community Film Archive: Engaging a community via its memories
The Borders Community Film Archive was launched earlier this year by Alchemy Film and Arts in Hawick. Its goal is for archive film made in and focusing on the Scottish Borders to be digitised, preserved and researched, with the intention of it being used for the common good of the community by schools, local groups and artists. Still in development and evolving as an archive, the BCFA has engaged with the local community in conventional and unconventional film exhibition spaces. This session will focused on the development process of creating a community film archive within a rural area, the way it can be used within film exhibition and its benefits in connecting with local communities and creating a sense of place.
The Archive & Intangible Cultural Heritage of Africa
In 2001, a film was released from Tanzania titled Maangamizi: The Ancient One. However, despite being recognized by prestigious international awarding bodies — the film has remained virtually unseen upon the continent, a fate too common for profound pieces of African film history. Ajabu Ajabu – a collective of audio-visual practitioners operating in or from Tanzania – invites you to question why that is. Following a physical and digital exhibition of this neglected work of art, a hybrid panel dialogue explored the return of Maangamizi and the localized distribution method undertaken by the Ajabu Ajabu team, emerging arguments for the restitution of African cinema, and the universal value of supporting creative reinterpretation of film work.
Is there a fee available?
If your idea is taken forward we can pay a fee of £500 for organising/administering the session, as well as travel and accommodation budget to travel to the event and a pass to attend the event. There will also be an additional budget to cover speaker fees or other costs to deliver the event. If you plan to lead the session yourself, you are also eligible to receive a speaker fee in addition to your curator fee. Your contribution will be acknowledged in the Screening Days info pack and on social media (if you would appreciate that). You may like to work with a partner or a group in which case the available fee will be split accordingly.
Who can make a proposal?
You do not need to work in film or a cinema to propose a session. If you have practical experience of working with audiences, classic films or archives, then we want to hear from you. You do not need to deliver the session yourself; as long as you are able to develop it and have the direct connections for it to take place we want to hear from you. You are also welcome to deliver it yourself (for which additional payment is applicable). We welcome international submissions for this open call. You can present online or in person. Unfortunately, we are unable to pay for international travel, so international applicants must deliver as part of our online day.
What are we trying to achieve?
We want to influence people who work in cinemas and other exhibition spaces to be more ambitious around how they bring audiences to classic and archive cinema, including expanding the canon of film history. We also want to continue growing the discipline of sharing archive material in independent cinemas. We are looking for innovative topics and speaker suggestions to make these events as impactful and inspiring as possible. We want to draw on experiences wider than those who currently work at ICO. You can read here about our current staff demographics, but we are especially looking for contributions that focus on ethnically diverse audiences, working class audiences and disabled audiences. We think that people from these groups are also most likely to have ideas on how to improve results with these audiences.
Who are the sessions aimed at? Who attends Screening Days?
Screening Days are attended by people who work for cinemas, mixed-art venues, film societies, film festivals and community cinemas as well as staff of public funders and other agencies working to support film culture in the UK. They will probably work in film programming, marketing and audience development roles. They will likely have small budgets and limited staff time so it’s important that the events give them both inspiration and practical takeaways.
What support is available?
The ICO team are happy to work with you on organising and developing sessions if you’d like, or we can try and pair you with other curators who might like to partner with you. We can provide access support, travel, accommodation, digital costs (e.g. mobile top up) and caring costs (budget permitting) for anyone who is working with you on the session.
How and when should ideas be submitted?
The closing date for submissions is Friday 25 October at 5pm. If you’re interested in taking part please send your session idea(s) to Duncan Carson, Projects and Business Manager at the ICO: duncan.carson@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk
Your session idea should be no longer than one page and should include:
- Session title (this should give a clear sense of what the session is and what the benefits are for delegates)
- Session description (no more than 500 words)
- Why you think this idea will help more people engage with classic films or help tell historical narratives with archive films
- Suggested speakers (if applicable)
You are also welcome to send an audio or video recording of no more than 8 minutes describing your idea. We are judging only on content (don’t spend any time on fancy editing or cinematography!). Send a WeTransfer or private YouTube link to duncan.carson@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.
All ideas are reviewed by the ICO internal team and the Screening Days Advisory Group. Once successful ideas have been selected to be taken forward, you will be given more guidance about session design and inviting speakers. We are happy to receive more than one suggestion if you have it.
We will let you know if your idea has been accepted or not by Wednesday 13 November, offering you around eight weeks to prepare the programme if successful. We are happy to offer feedback on all submissions if requested, and we let all applicants know the outcome of their submission.
The closing date for this position is 25/10/2024 at 17:00