Come to Winter Screening Days in Bristol, the industry screenings event for programming, marketing and education staff of cinemas, film festivals, and film societies.
This event at one of the UK’s top independent cinemas, the Watershed in Bristol, will give you first-hand knowledge of upcoming film releases so you can select, market and get strong audiences in your venue. Our focus is on key art-house and independent titles, and the winter event will showcase titles scheduled for release between February – April 2016.
See films that will help your programme stand out, meet and exchange ideas with colleagues and hear from industry experts on important developments.
Registration
Registration for Winter Screening Days is now closed.
Prices:
One-day pass: £25
Two-day pass: £44
Three-day pass: £60
ICO Screening Days is an industry event for people who work or volunteer in the film exhibition sector. Your request for passes will be sent to the ICO for approval, you will then be sent an email with a link to pay for your pass(es) through the WorldPay secure banking site. Please note that we have a limit of five attendees per organisation.
The deadline for registration is Monday 4th January 2016.
A full refund is available for cancellations up to Friday 8th January 2016.
If you have any problems booking your pass(es) online please email sarah@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk or telephone 0207 636 7120.
Discounts and funded passes
Full-time students can receive a 50% discount on passes.
BFI Neighbourhood Cinema is funding 10 passes for recipients of support from the Pilot Fund for Touring Cinema Initiatives and the Equipment Fund. Passes will be allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, and are limited to one per organisation. You will need your BFINC number to book passes; this can be found on the top right-hand side of your profile page on http://neighbourhoodcinema.org.uk.
For further information on BFI Neighbourhood Cinema email contact@neighbourhoodcinema.org.uk
Find out more
Further information about the event will be uploaded to this section of the website, or for any queries please call 0207 636 7120 or email sarah@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk.
We love the ICO Screening Days! For programming, for marketing, for networking. And they’re so well organised. Thank you
Screening Days delegate
Films
Travel
Watershed is located in the city centre on Bristol’s historic harbourside.
1 Canons Road
Harbourside
Bristol
BS1 5TX
General Enquiries: 0117 927 6444
For a map please visit www.watershed.co.uk/visit/location
By road
Watershed is situated on the waterfront, off of Anchor Road. It cannot be accessed by car.
The nearest car parks are the NCP on Prince Street and Millennium Square Car Park at the end of Explore Lane and Canons Way.
NCP on Prince Street, Bristol, BS1 4QF
To walk to Watershed from the NCP car park, turn right when you come out of the car park onto Prince Street. Take your first right onto Farr’s Lane. At the end of Farr’s Lane you will be at the waterfront. Cross Pero’s Bridge onto the other side of the water and turn right. Watershed is on the left-hand side.
Millennium Square Car Park, Bristol, BS1 5LL (scroll down)
To walk to Watershed from Millennium Square Car Park, turn right when you come out of the car park onto Explore Lane. When you get to the ibis hotel on the left, turn right and walk across Millennium Square until you get to the waterfront. Turn left along the waterfront, Watershed is on the left-hand side.
For a map of other local car parks please visit:
www.travelwest.info/car_parking
By rail
There are two mainline railway stations in Bristol; Bristol Temple Meads and Bristol Parkway. Bristol Temple Meads station is the closest to Watershed.
Temple Meads
Temple Meads station is about 1 mile from Watershed. Taxis are available outside the station. Alternatively it is about a 20 minute walk from Temple Meads station to Watershed.
- Head out of the train station, down Station Approach. At the end of the road, cross the road at the pelican crossing and turn right onto Temple Gate.
- Follow the road round to the left towards St Mary Redcliffe Church and Arnolfini onto Redcliffe Way.
- Follow Redcliffe Way past the St Mary Redcliffe church on your left.
- At the roundabout head straight across towards Arnolfini and Youth Hostel. Once over the roundabout continue on Redcliffe Way (you will cross the river).
- At the mini-roundabout head straight across onto Bell Avenue. This will lead you to Queen Square.
- Head straight on past Queen Square keeping to the left-hand side. Continue onto Royal Oak Avenue.
- Cross Prince Street and continue straight onto Farr’s Lane. At the end of Farr’s Lane you will be at the waterfront.
- Cross Pero’s Bridge onto the other side of the water and turn right. Watershed is on the left-hand side.
Parkway station
Parkway station is about 6 miles from Watershed. Taxis are available outside the station.
By coach
National Express has direct coaches to Bristol from 116 destinations. Coaches arrive at Bristol Coach Station, Marlborough Street, Bristol, BS1 3NU. The coach station is about a 15 minute walk to Watershed.
To walk to Watershed from the coach station, come out of the station and turn right onto Marlborough Street. Turn right onto Canon Street, continue until you reach St James’ Park. Cross St James’ Park (its a small park), when you get to the other side of the park, turn right onto Haymarket which then leads quickly onto Lewins Mead. Continue on Lewins Mead for nearly 0.5 miles, the road bears round to the left and then to the right. Lewins Mead turns into Anchor Road. Stay on the left-hand side of Anchor Road, you should see the waterfront directly ahead of you. Watershed is then slightly further up on the waterfront on the right-hand side.
By air
From London Heathrow
There is a direct National Express coach service between Heathrow and Bristol. Alternatively you can take the Heathrow Airport Express to London Paddington and a First Great Western train from London Paddington to Bristol. There is also a RailAir link coach service which runs between Heathrow and Reading. Most Paddington to Bristol trains stop at Reading.
From Bristol Airport
The airport is about 8 miles to the south of Bristol centre. Taxis are available at the airport or there is a frequent bus service to Temple Meads station and the City Centre called Airport Flyer Express Link.
Useful links
- National Rail Enquiries www.nationalrail.co.uk
- Traveline www.traveline.org.uk
Hotels (by distance)
Radisson Blu
Approximate rate per night: £85 – £115
Distance to Watershed: 150 metres
Bristol Marriott Royal Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £99 – £120
Distance to Watershed: 150 metres
ibis Bristol Centre
Approximate rate per night: £75 – £84
Distance to Watershed: 0.2 miles
Bristol YHA
Approximate rate per night: £22 – £54
Distance to Watershed: 0.2 miles
Premier Inn Bristol City Centre (King Street)
Approximate rate per night: £60 – £82
Distance to Watershed: 0.3 miles
Travelodge Bristol Central Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £56 – £70
Distance to Watershed: 0.3 miles
Thistle Bristol City Centre, The Grand
Approximate rate per night: £95 – £132
Distance to Watershed: 0.4 miles
Mercure Bristol Brigstow Hotel
Approximate rate per night: £101 – £124
Distance to Watershed: 0.4 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 cinemas 1, 2 and 3 at Watershed.
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! You can visit Watershed’s café-bar (on the first floor). Click here for further details and opening hours.
How accessible is the Watershed?
The main entrance and box office are located on the ground floor, accessible via a ramped, electronically assisted door. The cinemas, café/bar and event spaces are on the first floor, accessible via a lift near the box office. On the first floor there is level access to all areas, including an adapted toilet, with Radar key.
Induction loops are available in all three cinemas.
There are two disabled badge holders’ parking spaces to the rear of the building, on Canons Road.
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 spring Screening Days event in April 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?
The next Screening Days event is our Spring event 9 – 11 April 2016 at BFI Southbank, London.
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.
In partnership with Film Hub South West & West Midlands and Film Hub Wales.