We’re delighted to be visiting the Depot in Lewes for the first time for our summer event from 6 – 8 July 2019!
We’ll be screening the best independent cinema set for release over the following months, so you can pack your programme with great discoveries to entice new audiences and thrill existing ones.
Registration
Registration for this event has now closed. Please email info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk with any queries.
“The opportunity to watch an outstanding selection of films in a concentrated space of time – more easily and less stressfully than at festivals – Screening Days are beautifully functional.”
Screening Days delegate
Films
Travel
Depot
Pinwell Road
Lewes
East Sussex
BN7 2JS
Depot is situated in Pinwell Road at the bottom of Station Street, next to Lewes Railway Station.
By train
Depot is ideally situated for train travel. Trains from Brighton (16-17 mins duration) arrive approximately every 10 minutes. Check train times to Lewes via the Trainline or Southern Railway’s website. Train engineering works often take place at weekends, so please check your chosen routes closer to date.
By car
There is a Pay and Display car park on Pinwell Road (25 spaces) and several other car parks at locations throughout Lewes: please click here for full details. Please note that Pinwell Road itself is a very narrow lane and has no on-road parking. Depot has two disability parking bays right in front of the venue. There is more disability parking in Pinwell Road car park and all other Lewes car parks.
By bus
Lewes is served by several local bus routes, see Depot’s website for details. Depot is a few minutes’ walk from the Station Street and High Street bus stops.
By bicycle
Depot has on-site racks with space for 30 bicycles, protected from the weather and by CCTV. There are more bike racks located nearby at the station, the High Street and Friars Walk.
Accommodation
Accommodation bookings are now closed.
We have organised a deal with the University of Sussex located in their student halls in Falmer, near Brighton, a short train ride from Lewes, in their East Slope student residences. The residences are eleven bedroom townhouses with ten standard rooms (five on the second and third floors) and two shared bathrooms per floor. Accessible rooms are on the ground floor. Rooms are designed for single occupancy only.
Please note: this is very basic, not luxury accommodation, but we hope it proves an economical option for people coming from afar. For brief details of what’s included, click here and for more in-depth information, browse the University of Sussex’s accommodation handbook. Please note that you will be supplied with bedding, a towel plus basic catering equipment for the kitchens; though you will need to bring your own toiletries and if you do not book an accessible room, must be prepared to share a bathroom.
Standard / Accessible room: £25.00 per night
Please note that rooms will be allocated on a first come, first served basis and that accessible rooms are only available for booking by people with accessibility issues.
Travel to and from East Slope
East Slope (map)
University of Sussex
Falmer
Brighton
BN1 9RP
For information on travel to the University of Sussex and parking on campus, click here. To get to Depot from East Slope the easiest option is to get the train from Falmer Station (Falmer Station is connected to the campus by a pedestrian underpass) to Lewes Station (2 mins walking distance from Depot). Trains take approximately 7-10 minutes and leave every 10-15 minutes (less frequently on Sundays). Browse train times here. You can also get buses from Falmer Station to Depot or drive (both approx. 15 mins, buses leave approx. every 10 mins).
Other accommodation options
If you prefer to stay in a hotel, we advise booking as soon as possible and looking initially for hotels in Brighton. See current availability on Booking.com.
Why attend?
Exhibitors who attend Screening Days know the difference it makes.
That’s why staff and volunteers of cinemas, mixed arts venues, film festivals, and film societies attend again and again. But if you haven’t come before, here’s five reasons Screening Days could be invaluable for you…
- Screening Days make your programming decisions easier: watching our amazing selection of the upcoming films lets you get clear on whether a film is right for your venue and how to make it work best in your programme.
- Screening Days are efficient: finding time to watch films in the busy and divided schedule of a film programmer is hard. Screening Days lets you cover a lot of ground with amazing access.
- Screening Days simplify marketing: knowing what audience you’re trying to target becomes much easier once you know the film directly and who in your community would want to come and see it.
- Screening Days gives you access to key industry players: we often have representatives from the BFI, Cinema for All, Film Audience Network and Filmbankmedia, as well as many major distributors in attendance. Screening Days is your chance to hear about funding, technology and opportunities that can mean just as much as what you put on the screen itself.
- Screening Days is a forum to share knowledge: gathering together this number of exhibitors in one place means you can keep up with developments from peers and learn from what is working for them.
FAQ
How do I register on the day?
Registration will be held from 8.30am each morning, at which you will be issued with a badge for the day(s) you are attending. This will be your entry pass into all screenings. The registration area will be staffed by the ICO throughout the event. We’ll be on hand to offer advice on topics including programming, distribution, audience development and more.
Where are the screenings held?
Films will be shown in all three screens at Depot.
Will there be any other activities in addition to the screenings?
Yes! There will be a drinks reception on Saturday evening for delegates to meet and network with fellow colleagues and catch up on the all-important films of the day.
In addition Carmen Slijpen, Programmer and Creative Director of Depot, will deliver a short presentation on Saturday lunchtime on ‘Transforming Cinemas into Sustainable Venues’ (highlighting Depot’s work on sustainability) and on Sunday lunchtime, will lead a short tour of the cinema.
How accessible is Depot?
Depot was designed with accessibility in mind, and has been recognised with the Selwyn Goldsmith Award for Universal Design (for projects demonstrating excellence in accessibility for all users.
Depot is all on the ground floor and there are accessible ways around all minor height levels. The three auditoria; the Cafe, Restaurant, Lounge and Gallery; the toilets; the outside terraces and the garden are equally accessible to all. All signage is bold and large. There are gender neutral toilets adjacent to the restaurant.
For further details about accessibility at Depot click here.
How do you select films for Screening Days?
We work closely with distributors to select independent, world and art house cinema that will be released in the following quarter. We focus on titles that are unlikely to have a vast marketing budget so need the keen curatorial eye and advance notice that a viewing at Screening Days can provide for your programme. We also occasionally include higher profile titles, particularly in the lead-up to awards season, which we believe delegates will be keen to see in order to assess suitability for their programmes. Our goal is to provide you with the opportunity to see the widest range of films so you’re able to broaden programmes in your venues, and we hope the Screening Days programme reflects that.
Why can't you release the schedule earlier?
We always try to finalise the schedule as soon as possible so you can plan ahead. Unfortunately, we are limited in how far in advance we can do so. Because distributors offering us their films often haven’t determined their schedule in advance, or are waiting on delivery of the materials, we often receive final confirmations quite close to the event. Then, in order to evenly space the films across the different screens, we need to carefully schedule the films, which takes time.
Why aren’t there more or longer breaks?
We try to give you as many breaks as possible between films and usually have morning, lunch and afternoon breaks, but are restricted by the availability of the screens and the length of the films. Most cinemas can’t take out their evening public screenings due to conditions set by distributors, and so they don’t disappoint their local (paying) audience. This means we can only screen films between 9am – 5.30pm. We try to keep in mind that the main purpose of the event is for you to be able to see as many films as possible.
Why can only organisers, marketers and programmers attend?
The purpose of Screening Days is to encourage strong audiences for a more diverse selection of films. Programmers, organisers (e.g. the most senior person in a community screen, members of the selection committee of a film society) and marketers are the people in a best position to both select films and advocate for these films in their venues. We are often oversubscribed, so this is the fairest way to ensure that key staff get the opportunity to attend.
Why can only four members of my organisation attend?
Our Screening Days events have been selling out for the past few years and starting at this event we are now limiting the number of passes per any one organisation to four. This is to ensure that the largest possible number of organisations can attend Screening Days to maximise their benefit across the film exhibition sector.
As we only screen three films at any one time, you will still be able to see all of the titles shown.
Attendees must also be engaged in one of the following roles within their organisation: programming, marketing, education, audience development, or on the selection committee of a film society/club.
How frequent do my screenings need to be for me to attend?
Our funders for Screening Days, in addition to the distributors that lend us their films, stipulate that exhibitors must hold 12 or more screenings per year to attend (and must have done so in the year to date).
Is there any support available for me to attend?
Your regional Film Hub may be able to offer support to their members to attend, in the form of a bursary towards fees, travel and accommodation. For further information and/or links to contact your local Hub to enquire, see below:
- Film Hub Midlands http://filmhub.broadway.org.uk
- Film Hub London http://filmlondon.org.uk/film-hub-london/support-for-exhibitors/film-hub-bursaries
- Film Hub North https://filmhubnorth.org.uk/contact
- Film Hub Northern Ireland filmhubni.org/Hub-Services
- Film Hub Scotland http://www.filmhubscotland.com/opportunities/training
- Film Hub South East
- Film Hub South West
https://watershed.co.uk/filmhub/training-support/bursaries - Film Hub Wales http://www.filmhubwales.org/support
Why haven't I received an additional email approving my passes?
Our registration process has changed. In the past, we requested payment after approving your registration, and you would receive a separate email to confirm your passes were approved.
Now, we take payment from your account immediately when you book your passes and you will only receive one automatic booking confirmation email at this point. If you don’t receive this email, please check your junk/spam folder.
If there is any problem with your eligibility we will contact you within five working days to refund your fees, but otherwise you may assume your registration was successful.
If you have any queries or issues while booking your pass, email info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.
When will you be hosting the next Screening Days and where?
The next Screening Days events will be:
- I. D. (Inclusion and Diversity) Screening Days 2019
Thurs 26 & Fri 27 September | Broadway, Nottingham - Autumn Screening Days 2019
Sat 9 to Mon 11 November | Showroom, Sheffield - Archive Screening Day 2019
Thurs 5 December | BFI Southbank, London - Spring Screening Days 2020
Sat 7 to Mon 9 March | BFI Southbank, London
Sign up to our mailing list to stay up to date.
Can I tweet or share reviews or comments on the films in public?
No. While we appreciate your enthusiasm (or otherwise) for films you see at Screening Days, the terms that we receive the films under completely prohibit any social media or film forum discussion of films in the Screening Days programme, however positive it is! Distributors monitor social media channels for discussion of the films. Please do feel free to discuss the films in person with other delegates, and if you’d like to talk about the event in general on social media you can find us at @ICOtweets #ScreeningDays.
ICO events code of conduct
- We want our events to be fun, inclusive spaces for film professionals. We expect people attending and working at the event to maintain our code of conduct so that it can stay fun and inclusive. Harassment and bullying have no place at ICO events. Be mindful of others’ experience and think before you speak or act, so that everyone can have a pleasurable and productive experience.
- Examples of inappropriate behaviour that contravenes our code of conduct includes offensive verbal comments related to gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion, sexual images in public spaces, deliberate intimidation, stalking, following, harassing photography or recording, sustained disruption of talks or other events, aggressive behaviour, inappropriate physical contact and unwelcome sexual attention.
- If you feel uncomfortable, or someone behaves inappropriately towards you, or you witness something inappropriate, please report it to a member of ICO staff or email info@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk. Your complaint will be treated with confidence and discretion. We are happy to help you and can help report inappropriate behaviour to the authorities, where necessary or address the problem ourselves where more appropriate. We reserve the right to refuse entry to anyone who does not comply with our code of conduct. This code of conduct applies both in person and online.
- If you would like to speak to an independent organisation about an issue, the Film and TV Charity have a free and confidential helpline available on 0800 054 00 00. It operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day.
Sustainability
Depot is committed to running an environmentally sustainable enterprise and will share details of this important work in a session at the event. They aim to keep their carbon footprint as low as possible and put environmental impact at the heart of their activities. In part response to this and to the ongoing climate, biodiversity and plastic pollution crisis, the ICO aims to create as little waste as possible and at this and future events, will:
- Ask delegates who have old ICO tote bags to bring them to the event to use instead of supplying new ones
- Produce new recyclable badges
- Ask delegates to return badges and lanyards at the end of the event, so we can recycle them
- Ask delegates to complete online audience responses via app after the films
- Ask you to complete diversity monitoring forms online only after the event.
Depot also encourages delegates to bring their own water bottles and re-usable coffee cups.
For more on Depot’s sustainability focus, see our recent blog post.
Terms and conditions
ICO Screening Days is an industry event for programmers, organisers, audience developers, education officers or marketers from cinemas, mixed arts venues, film societies, film festivals and any other venue whose primary purpose is exhibition of films to the public. Please note that passes are limited to four per organisation and are strictly non-transferable.
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