If you want to see films that could make your programme stand out and bring in new audiences, our Spring Screening Days is the perfect event. Showing films from April to August 2016, this industry event is for anyone in programming, marketing and education staff of cinemas, film festivals and film societies.
Once again returning to the BFI Southbank, our flagship event will give you first-hand knowledge of upcoming film releases so you can select, market and get audiences in your venue.
Highlighting arthouse and independent titles, you’ll also get to meet and exchange ideas and best practice with peers, exhibitor organisations and distributors
Being able to watch films before taking the plunge and booking them … allows us to gain confidence in our programming ability and have better knowledge to share with our audience.
Screening Days delegate
Films
Travel
BFI Southbank
Belvedere Road
South Bank
London
SE1 8XT
The main entrance to BFI Southbank is on Theatre Avenue (off of Upper Ground or The Queen’s Walk), between BFI Southbank and the National Theatre.
Walking
From Waterloo railway station (5-10min walk)
Turn left out of the station onto Station Approach, cross over York Square and York Road at the traffic lights. Turn left onto Concert Hall Approach, at the end of the road turn right onto Belvedere Road. Go past the Royal Festival Hall on your left, go past the Hayward Gallery on your left, and continue onto Upper Ground. Turn left onto Theatre Avenue. The main entrance to BFI Southbank is on your left.
From Waterloo underground station (5-10min walk)
Come out of the South Bank exit of the underground station. Turn left out of the station onto York Road. Turn left onto Concert Hall Approach, at the end of the road turn right onto Belvedere Road. Go past the Royal Festival Hall on your left, go past the Hayward Gallery on your left, and continue onto Upper Ground. Turn left onto Theatre Avenue. The main entrance to BFI Southbank is on your left.
From Charing Cross (10 – 15min walk)
Turn left out of the station onto Craven Street. At the bottom of Craven Street turn left onto Northumberland Avenue. Near the bottom of Northumberland Avenue take the stairs up onto the Hungerford Bridge. Once you have crossed the Hungerford Bridge take a left along Jubilee Gardens (along the River Thames). Walk along the river, passing the Royal Festival Hall and the Queen Elizabeth Hall on your right. You will walk underneath Waterloo Bridge, the BFI Southbank is on your right just after the bridge. The main entrance to BFI Southbank is on Theatre Avenue – walk past BFI Southbank and go round the building to the right, the main entrance is on your right.
By car
There is parking under Hayward Gallery, Royal National Theatre and Jubilee Gardens.
By train/underground
Nearest underground stations
- Waterloo (Bakerloo, Northern, Jubilee and Waterloo & City lines)
- Embankment (Circle and District lines)
Nearest main line rail stations
- Waterloo & Waterloo East
- Charing Cross
Planning your journey
Use Transport for London’s (TFL) Journey Planner service and live travel news
Hotels (Sorted by distance)
The Wellington Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £162 – £189
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.2 miles
Premier Inn London County Hall
Approximate rate per night: £79 – £154
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.3 miles
Premier Inn London Waterloo
Approximate rate per night: £69 – £161
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.3 miles
ibis London Blackfriars
Approximate rate per night: £89 – £115
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.5 miles
Travelodge London Southwark
Approximate rate per night: £58 – £85
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.6 miles
Travelodge London Waterloo
Approximate rate per night: £57 – £92.95
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.6 miles
Tune Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £83.33
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.6 miles
Days Hotel Waterloo
Approximate rate per night: £75.65 – £109.65
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.8 miles
Holiday Inn Express Southwark
Approximate rate per night: £95 – £143
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.8 miles
The Bridge Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £39.20 – £92
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.8 miles
Mecure London Bridge Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £107.10 – £148.50
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.8 miles
ibis Styles London Southwark Rose
Approximate rate per night: £93.86 – 110.82
Distance to BFI Southbank: 0.9 miles
Premier Inn London Southwark
Approximate rate per night: £79 – £155
Distance to BFI Southbank: 1 mile
The Portland
Approximate rate per night: £80.58 – 121.38
Distance to BFI Southbank: 1 mile
London City Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £69 – £109
Distance to BFI Southbank: 1.1 mile
Travelodge London Vauxhall
Approximate rate per night: £37 – £103
Distance to BFI Southbank: 1.6 mile
Rosebery Hall
Approximate rate per night: £36 – £80
Distance to BFI Southbank: 1.9 miles
NB. The ICO does not endorse any of the above hotels.
FAQ's
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 much more.
Can I leave my luggage somewhere?
There will be a space for delegates to leave luggage. Please note luggage is left at the owner’s risk.
When do the screenings happen?
Screenings run between 9:00am and 6:00pm each day.
Where are the screenings held?
Screenings will be held in NFT1, NFT2 and NFT3.
Will there be any other activities in addition to the screenings?
There will be a drinks reception on Saturday evening for delegates to meet and network with fellow colleagues, to catch up on the all important films of the day.
Is there somewhere to get drinks and food onsite?
Yes! Refreshments will be available to purchase from the delegate area. You can also visit BFI Southbank’s café bars, Benugo bar & kitchen and The Riverfront. Click here for further details and opening hours.
How accessible is BFI Southbank?
The main BFI Southbank foyer and box office entrance is on Theatre Avenue, by the National Theatre at street level. There are stairs and a wheelchair accessible lift to gain access to the main foyer. For full details on the accessibility of the BFI Southbank building please visit the ‘Access information’ page on the BFI website.
How do you select films for the programme at 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 titles with higher profiles, 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? I want to make sure I see certain films.
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 – 6pm. 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 five members of my organisation attend?
Following the sell-out of our Screening Days events in 2015, we are limiting the number of passes for any one organisation to five. This is to ensure that the largest number of organisations are able to attend the event. 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, now stipulate that exhibitors must hold 12 or more screenings per year to attend.
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.
When will you be hosting the next screening days and where?
We’re putting together our applications for funding to deliver the next series of Screening Days events for 2016-17. We hope to be able to announce the new series of dates and locations in March 2016.
Why attend?
Exhibitors who have already attended 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 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.