Women's Leadership 2016

Women occupy just 4% of top cinema jobs* and this programme represents the latest in the ICO’s commitment to diversify the exhibition workforce by tackling the lack of representation of women in top management positions in film exhibition. The intensive seven month programme will feature one-to-one coaching, regular skills development workshops and high-level 1-2-1 networking.

“This has been the best training experience of my life” Caroline Hennigan, Broadway Nottingham

Read testimonials from our 2015 participants from this career-changing course here.

Applicants must be women who have over three years’ experience working in a senior managerial position in the film exhibition sector (e.g. cinema or film festival).

Dates and locations of the course are as follows:
10am – 5pm: Thursday 6 October 2016 (The Hospital Club, London)
Overnight retreat: Tuesday 6 & Wednesday 7 December 2016 (Chapter Arts, Cardiff)
Overnight retreat: Thursday 12 & Friday 13 January 2017 (University of Brighton, Grand Parade)
10am – 5pm: Thursday 9 March 2017 (London)

You must be available to attend all dates and ideally have some flexibility around October – March to take part in any further 1-2-1 meetings.

The total cost is £1,200 which includes course fees, overnight accommodation, materials, coaching and some meals.

If you are a manager with 1-2+ years experience in a junior management role, you should consider applying for our Elevate: Introduction to Leadership course.

You may apply for a bursary toward course fees and travel/accommodation via ICO as well as your regional Film Hub. If the cost of attending is a deciding consideration for you, please contact the training team to discuss your options at training@independentcinemaoffice.org.uk or call on 020 7636 7120.

Supported by Creative Skillset’s Film Skills Fund, which is funded directly by industry through the Skills Investment Fund (SIF), as well as by the National Lottery via the BFI.

The following industry experts have been confirmed as speakers and one-to-one consultants on the course. More will be added as they are confirmed.

Amanda Nevill CBE – Chief Executive, BFI

Amanda joined the BFI in 2003 and has led its complete transformation into a major organisation valued by the UK industry and recognised as influential internationally. Her great focus is on nurturing the next generation of filmmakers and audiences and she has steered the BFI to lead the UK film industry in addressing an imbalance of diversity in front of and behind the camera. Before the BFI, Amanda was Head of the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television (National Media Museum) for nine years, also serving as one of the Executive Directors of the National Museum of Science & Industry. Before that she was CEO of the Royal Photographic Society. Amanda is an Honorary Fellow of the Royal Photographic Society and Fellow of the Royal Society of the Arts. She holds an Honorary Doctorate of Letters from Bradford University, an Honorary Fellowship from Bradford College and an Honorary Degree from York University. She was awarded a CBE in 2015.

Chris Fell – Film Manager, Leeds City Council

Chris Fell is Leeds Film Manager at Leeds City Council and Director of Leeds International Film Festival. The world’s first moving images were created by Louis le Prince in Leeds in 1888, and today the city is a leading centre for film culture with an exciting year-round programme of screenings and events for all. The Leeds Film team organises Leeds International Film Festival and Leeds Young Film Festival, runs the Leeds Film Academy, and develops the audience for the year-round programme with over 75 partners through its Leeds Film City and Short Film City initiatives.

Dorothy Wilson MBE – Former Chief Executive and Artistic Director, mac Birmingham

Before taking up her role at mac, Dorothy spent 14 years at West Midlands Arts, including seven years as deputy director, working across a range of art forms. For 7 years till late 2009 she chaired the West Midlands regional Arts Council and served on the national board of Arts Council England. She is currently Chair of the boards of a number of charitable organisations, including the BBC Performing Arts Fund, Artrix – Bromsgrove’s Arts Centre, Motionhouse Dance Theatre and The Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry. She is a Council member of Birmingham Chamber of Commerce and a Board member of Dancefest Herefordshire and Worcestershire. In 2005 she was made ITV Central’s Midlander of the Year in the Arts and Media category and received an honorary doctorate from Birmingham City University, then UCE. Dorothy was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts in 2006 and received an MBE for services to the arts in the New Year’s Honours list 2011.

Jaki McDougall – Chief Executive, Glasgow Film

Jaki joined the Glasgow Film Theatre (GFT) in May 1999. In that time she was responsible for founding the Glasgow Film Festival in 2005 and has led a brilliant team in making GFT the busiest cultural cinema in the UK outside London, elevating our work with children and young people to an internationally recognised (and award winning) standard, and putting the Glasgow Film Festival on the map as one of the top three film festivals in the UK. Glasgow Film is also recognised for its work in equality, diversity and inclusion which was acknowledged by the judges who awarded the Screen Awards 2015 Cinema of the Year to GFT. Jaki is also active in developing cinema across the whole of Scotland as a founding Director of Scottish Film who operate Film Hub Scotland (part of the BFI Film Audience Network) which provides support mechanisms to develop access to cinema in every community across the country, and Scottish Film Education who are delivering the BFI 5-19 programme in partnership with Creative Scotland and Into Film in Scotland.

xx

Lyn Goleby – Managing Director, Picturehouse Cinemas

Lyn Goleby is a founder director of Picturehouse Cinemas and is Managing Director of the company.  She also has an independent career as a film producer. She produced The Bridge, and executive produced Diplomatic Immunity and The Matchmaker.  She became involved in funding the start up of City Screen (which became Picturehouse) in 1989.  By 1992 this role had become full time as the company began to establish its credentials as a leading independent cinema operator.

In 2003 Lyn, jointly with her business partner, was awarded an Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Europa Cinemas.  Lyn served for 2 years on the Film Committee of the Arts Council England. Outside work Lyn served for 8 years on the board of  Dance East whilst they built a new dance centre in Ipswich. She also serves on the Council of Tate Modern.  She was on the Board of the Cinema Exhibitors’ Association until Picturehouse was bought in 2012 by Cineworld (listed on the London stock exchange) in a deal which involved an accelerated programme of growth.

Pip Eldridge – Director of Strategy and Development, Into Film

Pip is the Director of Strategy and Development at Into Film, having previously been a consultant for one of the new organisation’s founding charities, FILMCLUB. Before that, she was the CEO of First Light, the other founding educational charity. She started her career in film at the Watershed cross art-form venue in Bristol. She has also previously worked as the Exhibition and Education Manager for the capital’s film agency Film London, and was responsible for the strategic development of film exhibition and education across London.

Alice Cabanas
Director – Head of Communications and Development, Encounters Festival
Hub Region: SWWM

Encounters is the UK’s leading short film and animation festival based in Bristol.  Alice is now working on her third iteration of the festival. For 2 years she managed the Marketing and Communications for the festival, overseeing all elements of the Festival marketing plan. In January 2016 she was promoted to Co-Director, with particular focus on Communications and Development. She oversees the planning and implementation of the Festival marketing strategy, alongside the wider responsibility of Festival strategy, management, fundraising and directorial vision.

Anna Navas
Film Programmer, Plymouth Arts Centre and Peninsula Arts, Plymouth
Hub Region: SWWM

Anna has been a Film Programmer for Plymouth Arts Centre since the late 1990’s. She has helped develop and grow PAC’s film offer from a part-time cinema into a full-time venue providing the widest range of independent, foreign language cinema in the city. In this role I have developed many outreach film projects across the city and have mentored colleagues in other local organisations. Anna has also worked as the Film Administrator at Peninsula Arts at Plymouth University since December 2014 where her role is to develop a curatorial approach to programming that creates a bridge between academia, the visual arts and cinema in the Jill Craigie Cinema at Peninsula Arts.

Holli Keeble
Head of Programme, Tyneside Cinema
Hub Region: North

Holli has been at Tyneside Cinema for 12 years, following working in arts administration in cultural venues across Newcastle.  As Head of Programme, she has responsibility for the strategic development and delivery of programme across film, artist film and learning and participation, as well as wider business development. She manages a team of 13 and is part of the Cinema’s senior leadership team. Previous roles at Tyneside Cinema have included Arts Learning and Participation Manager, and Projects Manager during which time she secured national portfolio status for Tyneside Cinema and significantly developed the organisation’s work with young people. Holli is a Clore short course fellow and sits on the board of community organisation Bridge and Tunnel Voices, committed to giving voice to underrepresented communities through film and creative arts.

Jo Blair
Senior Programmer & Arts Manager, Picturehouse Cinemas
Hub Region: London

Jo Blair joined Picturehouse in 2003 and is now Senior Programmer and Arts Manager.She develops arts-based partnerships and events that add to the company’s profile. This is achieved by recognising the cultural value of company-wide projects that could be delivered through accessing funding and getting that funding, pushing and delivering risky but interesting events whether ideas are self-generated or from other members of the programming team (eg: Laurie Anderson film screening for dogs, and season), and maintaining long term relationships (eg: Serpentine Gallery). She also programmes key Picturehouse cinemas such as the Duke of Yorks and client cinemas including The Rex Berkhamsted and ICA, whose programme she has developed over the last four years in a close working relationship.Previously, Jo worked at Zoo and Oasis Cinemas while studying for a BSc in Economics & Maths. She also has an MA in Photographic Studies and BA in Fine Art.

Julie Pearce
Cinemas Programme Manager, BFI
Hub Region: London

After finsihing a degree in 1985, Julie was accepted on the trainee manager scheme for Virgin Retail, and went on to work as a manager in London, Brighton and Dublin Megastores (managing up to 40 staff), attending many management training courses during this period. In 1989 Julie started work for the BFI as Assistant Finance Officer, and within six months moved to the programming team, during which time she was responsible for multiple programme elements, with special responsibility for managing the team responsible for scheduling, research and negotiating hire fees. From 2008-2012 she was responsible for the programme of BFI IMAX before it was signed over to Odeon, and since 2013 has been responsible for programming the Treasures from the Archive section of the BFI London Film Festival.

Kate McCarthy
Head of Business Operations, Phoenix Cinema
Hub Region: London

Kate is Head of Business Operations at the Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley, where she has worked for the past six years in various roles. Since graduating from the University of Leeds she has worked as a fringe and youth theatre director as well as a producer and manager at various theatres in London, Watford, Manchester and Edinburgh. She then returned to her local area of Finchley and is now running the cinema she visited as a customer for many years, rediscovering and developing her appreciation of film while indulging her love of spreadsheets, customers and box office software. She has a three-year-old son and therefore watches a lot of Mary Poppins, but her favourite film is The Birds.

Moira McVean
Head of Content Programming, Into Film
Hub Region: London

Moira has worked in the exhibition sector for 15 years and previously held senior positions at the Barbican and is now Head of Programming for Into Film, a position she has held for 3 years. Whilst at the Barbican Moira developed specialisms in programming for children and families and in Australian film. Moira independently produced FilmFest Australia in 2012 following her work as Programming Director of the London Australian Film Festival at the Barbican. Whilst at Into Film, Moira has developed her interest in film education broadening her knowledge to encompass programming for young audiences in formal and informal educational settings. As Head of Programming, Moira is also the curator of the annual UK wide film festival for schools, the Into Film Festival which last year engaged 350,000 teachers and young people.

Susan Beckett
Executive Director, City Eye
Hub Region: South East

Susan has enjoyed varied and invaluable experiences across the commercial and government sectors, including study to achieve Institute of Personnel and Development membership.  In 2001, responding to a life-long passion for the arts, Susan transferred these skills to the cultural sector.  In 2003 she took up a new role to manage City Eye through a major partnership project to develop a mixed arts venue which will complete and become its home in 2017.  The ensuing period has been a roller-coaster of opportunities and challenges including the launch of their annual film festival (2008) and multiple staff redundancies following funding cuts.