Film Programming Essentials 2025

Catharine founded the Independent Cinema Office in 2003 and continues to lead on the overall strategy and development of the company. Prior to founding the ICO, she worked at the BBC, the BFI, Arts Council England, as a Senior Programmer at the National Film Theatre, programmed the Encounters Film Festival in Bristol and worked as a freelance film programmer both in the UK and internationally. She has an MA in Film & Television from the University of London, has lectured in film and media at a number of UK universities, and is an experienced moderator and Q&A host as well as a contributor to a number of UK newspapers and magazines. She sits on the Steering Group for London’s Screen Archives, is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts, an advisory board member for Be the Business and a voting member of BAFTA. 

Across thirty years, David has worked as a Programmer, Distributor and Consultant, helping to set up, programme or advise numerous cinemas that have achieved record admissions and have proved sustainable over a long period. From 1998-2002, he was Director of Cinema at London’s Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) where he programmed an award-winning season of Japanese experimental film and increased admissions by 100%. He also made a success of the ICA’s cutting-edge distribution company, releasing over 50 films, including Ring, A One and a Two and Kandahar – all of which were profitable. Whilst Head of Content at the British Film Institute, he co-produced a screening of Borderline staged at the Tate Modern Turbine Hall and A Throw of Dice with a live orchestra in Trafalgar Square. He is currently the Head of Cinemas at the Independent Cinema Office, overseeing programming of a network of more than 25 independent cinemas across the UK.

Based in Leeds, and from Liverpool & South Africa, Mosa Mpetha is a film curator of Black, African and Archive films. Mosa co-founded Black Cinema Project, an evolving space for Black people to gather and watch and discuss films with care, and she curates Cinema Africa!, a permanent African film strand at Hyde Park Picture House, screening 3-5 films a month in partnership with local African communities. She also curates film programmes for local, national and international events, projects, tours and festivals.

Simon Duffy has extensive experience in the film industry, primarily with the British Film Institute (BFI) since 2001, where Simon currently serves as Programme & Research Manager after progressing from roles such as Programme & Research Coordinator and Assistant Programme Coordinator at BFI Southbank. Prior to this, Simon contributed to the From Page to Screen Film Festival as both a Film Programmer and a Freelance Film Festival Consultant. Additional freelance experience includes a role as a consultant for the Londra le citta visibili film festival.

Simon moved from Ireland to the UK and began working in independent film for London Electronic Art’s Pandemonium Film Festival in 1995. Subsequently, he joined the BFI London Film Festival and the London Lesbian and Gay Film Festival where he organised masterclasses as well as contributing to the broader Festival programme selections. He became Deputy Director of Cinema at the ICA in London, programming new international cinema, much of which was not then in UK distribution. Simon joined the Independent Cinema Office at its very beginning in 2003 where he programmed multiple independent cinemas. He left his role as Deputy Director of the ICO in 2016 to programme and run The Palace Cinema in Broadstairs, Kent which he owns with his wife Corinna. Since 2010, Simon has been an active member of the Programming Advisory Board for the London Korean Film Festival – the largest international showcase for Korean cinema outside Korea and sits on the Board of Trustees of the Independent Cinema Office.

Tom studied History at Oxford Brookes and has stayed in the city ever since. Prior to joining the Ultimate Picture Palace as Marketing and Events Manager in 2016, Tom worked in the press and marketing office at the Ashmolean Museum. He also previously ran a small independent record label. Tom became the UPP’s full-time Head of Programming and Marketing in 2022 after a successful share offer campaign resulted in 1,300 locals buying shares in the UPP to become a community-owned cinema. As a historic one-screen venue, the Ultimate Picture Palace is dedicated to showcasing independent and international films, classic and repertory titles, and hosting special events. New releases are presented off-date and selected by a Programming Group, chaired by Tom, which includes cinema staff and a rotating group of volunteers.