ICO News
It’s a busy time in the ICO office, with new training programmes, distribution titles and research keeping us on our toes. Here’s a taste of what we’ve got going on:
- After receiving our highest ever number of applications for our flagship Cultural Cinema Exhibition training course, we’ve now confirmed the list of lucky delegates following a (very) tough selection process. Thank you to all who applied!
- Screening Days is drawing ever closer, with only a few passes left for Monday. Our final line-up boasts 24 of the best upcoming independent and world cinema releases, as well as award-winning shorts and a range of capacity-building sessions to get you thinking about your programme and organisational identity. If you missed out on the full three-day pass, there’s still the chance to see some of our great titles – The Other Side of Hope, Their Finest, I Am Not Your Negro, to name a few – on Monday, but passes are running low!
- Our third Britain on Film on Tour programme is now available to book! Britain on Film: Black Britain gathers archive films from 1901 to 1985 to form a rare and valuable exploration of previously little-seen depictions of black British life on screen, from scenes in the Edwardian collieries of the early 19th century to partying on the streets of London during Carnival. Previous Britain on Film programmes – Railways and Rural Life – are still available to book.
- With more speakers confirming by the day, our international Developing Your Film Festival training course – this year running in Edinburgh alongside EIFF – is shaping up to be one of our best. If you want to learn from the minds behind the world’s best film festivals this is your chance! Find out more and how to apply here.
- It is happening again…as excitement builds for new Twin Peaks, we’re whetting your Lynchian appetites with a re-release of his journey through the city of dreams in Mulholland Drive. The ‘best film of the 21st century’ is back in cinemas 14 April in a new 4K restoration approved by David Lynch himself.
- Amidst all the drama of Sunday’s Academy Awards you might have spotted a clip of another classic we’re re-releasing this year. The first recipient of the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film, Federico Fellini’s La Strada, will be back on the big screen this May. A favourite of filmmakers including Martin Scorsese and Jane Campion, La Strada is a treat for cinephiles old and new.
- While most of our Deaf Awareness Training days are over now, with just a few spaces left for next week’s session at the QFT in Belfast, our commitment to improve cinema provision for the D/deaf and hard of hearing is ongoing. We’re asking film exhibitors to tell us what they do to welcome D/deaf and hard of hearing audiences into their venues, and what obstacles are standing in the way of truly great provision. If you have a spare 5 minutes, we’d really appreciate it if you could fill in our short survey on this topic.
Opportunities and Calls for Submissions
- Berwick Film & Media Arts Festival is now open for entries! Entries are welcome from any genre, and in any format and on any subject. All single screen works under 60 minutes in length will automatically be eligible for selection in the Festival’s New Cinema Competition. For details and to submit your film, visit www.berwickfilm-artsfest.com.
- Submissions are now open for London Short Film Festival 15th anniversary in 2018. LSFF accepts both UK and International submissions, presenting a diverse and confrontational programme that holds up a mirror to our rapidly changing world. Find out more and how to submit: http://shortfilms.org.uk/lsff2018/submissions
- Are you aged 18-25 and not in full-time education, training or employment? Do you have a brilliant idea for a short film? Would you like training, mentorship, funding and a professional crew to help you make it? Creative England have teamed up with Sky Arts for SHORTFLIX to provide that very opportunity. Find out more about the scheme and how to apply: http://creativeengland.co.uk/film-and-tv/shortflix. Deadline 5pm on Wednesday 8 March 2017.
- Are you a film academic in the early stages of your career? Kings College London are seeking a scholar with a commitment to interdisciplinary research and education and a special interest in Film Studies for their Liberal Arts Fellowship. Find out more here.
- There are a whole host of great opportunities listed on our Jobs page, including several positions at the brand new depot cinema in Lewes. If you’re an experienced marketing, finance or front of house manager, you can really make your mark on this exciting new endeavour.
Read more
- The 2017 Nostradamus Report has gathered some of the best minds in the screen industries – including ICO Director Catharine Des Forges – to look ahead at the future of the industry, its challenges and opportunities.
- Ever wondered where the money from those ever-increasing ticket prices go? Stephen Follows breaks it down with his blog on how a cinema’s box office income is distributed.
- Stephen Follows is just one of the people we recommend you subscribe to in our blog on how to make data central in your marketing strategy. Find out how data can make a big difference, saving you time and money.
- UKCA chief Phil Clapp laid out the key issues facing the UKs cinema sector ahead of the UKCA Conference which took place this week. Read what he had to say here.
- There will be no shortage of articles and opportune jokes about Sunday’s Academy Awards, but if you’d rather not dwell on the night, Indiewire have looked to the future to see what’s next for the winners.
- Human Rights Watch Film Festival starts this Sunday 6 March 2017 in venues across London. See the whole programme here.
- After the sad news of maverick Japanese director Seijun Suzuki’s passing at aged 93 last week, he’s remembered by The Guardian, Vulture and the New York Times.
- Glowing tributes have been paid to Neville Parry – a Suffolk cinema projectionist believed to have been the worlds oldest in his profession, who died in February.