Meet the speakers: Reframing Film 2023

Join some of the most inspiring voices in rep and archive film exhibition and distribution to explore alternative ways of connecting older films with a new wave of cinema goers and to get inspired to broaden repertory cinema beyond the comfort of the mainstream.  

This is a Film Hub South West led initiative co-presented with BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) partners funded through National Lottery. This event is free and open to FAN Member organisations and archive practitioners. 

To find out how to join BFI FAN, contact your regional hub. 

Find out more about Cinema Rediscovered. 

 

We are grateful to Park Circus, the Principal sponsor for Reframing Film alongside StudioCanal who are sponsoring the networking lunch. 

  • 11-11.50am: From Online to In-Venue: A New Wave of Cinema Goers? 

With expansive conversations about film now happening through social media platforms, podcasts and websites, the online space is developing and engaging film communities in dynamic ways; how might physical spaces and events relate to this growing dialogue and audiences?

 

Get inspiration from various practitioners that have successfully built online communities around film and how their work can or might also translate to in-person engagement. It’s an opportunity for film exhibitors to reflect on how this might inspire fresh approaches to audience development. 

 

The panel includes: 

Ella Kemp (Letterboxd, London Editor) 

Ella Kemp is a critic, editor and photographer based in London. She is the London Editor for Letterboxd and Head of Editorial for Girls on Tops, and regularly writes about film for Empire, Variety, Little White Lies, Vogue Australia and more. Her favourite film is Moulin Rouge! and her favourite word is verklempt, because it’s what she often is. 

https://ellakemp.co.uk/ 

Ryan Finnigan (Showroom Cinema Programme Manager) 

Ryan Finnigan is programme manager at Showroom Cinema in Sheffield. He has a keen interest in archive film and is currently a PhD Candidate at Sheffield Hallam University researching film preservation and the ethics of digital film restoration. Prior to working in film programming, Ryan worked professionally in marketing including social media and digital content creation, and currently works freelance with brands on campaigns and online promotion. 

Tessa Williams (Film Writer, Collector and Festival Programmer) 

Tessa is a film writer, film collector and film festival programmer. She has a degree in Film Studies and an MA in Scriptwriting from Aberystwyth University. She is currently Lead Programmer for Forbidden Worlds Film Festival in Bristol, which has taken place at the former Bristol IMAX since 2022. She also occasionally writes film reviews, with publications in Cinema Chords and Critical Popcorn.  

Chaired by: 

Steph Read (Watershed) 

Steph works on the cinema programme at Watershed and Cinema Rediscovered, and curated the Down & Dirty: American D.I.Y. Restored strand at this year’s festival. They recently completed an MA in Curating, with an academic focus on spaces of film exhibition. 

Break, 10 mins

  • 12-1pm: Cinema 3 – From Akira to Zaat: the Rise of Genre Cinema? 

Over the past decade, the UK’s exhibition landscape has seen multiple venues, community cinemas and film festivals have great success by programming classic and cult genre titles and opening the doors for the latest action, horror and sci-fi talent.

Could genre films, particularly weird and wonderful cult titles that can’t be found on your average streaming service be the answer to regional venues attracting younger and more diverse audiences?

This panel brings together exhibitors that have built up dedicated followings that revel not only in the big screen experience, but also in the enjoyment of sharing experiences with like-minded audiences. Join them for a discussion about what they’ve found attracts punters through their doors from classic horrors, exploitation B-movies and foreign rip-offs to breath-taking action sequences and more! 

Melissa Gueneau (Co-director of Mayhem Film Festival) 

Melissa is one of the co-directors of Mayhem Film Festival – a Nottingham-based horror, sci-fi and cult film festival. Melissa has been working in the industry for over a decade with roles in marketing and programming at Warwick Arts Centre, Broadway Nottingham, Sundance Film Festival and Glimmer Films. As a programmer, her key interests lie in horror, film noir, and stories exploring identity, as well as the cinema of Agnès Varda and Guy Maddin.  

Nia Edwards-Behi (Co-director of Abertoir, Wales’ International Horror Festival) 

Nia is Co-director of Abertoir, Wales’ International Horror Festival, which takes place in Aberystwyth every year. Nia has a doctorate in Film Studies, and by day she’s Audiovisual Cataloguer at the National Library of Wales Screen and Sound Archive. 

Soo Cole (Founder of Fighting Spirit Film Festival) 

Soo Cole has been doing martial arts since she was 10 years old since watching The Karate Kid at the cinema. She co-founded and directs Fighting Spirit Film Festival which aims to promote , inspire, connect, recognize and support martial arts and action in film. Soo has also worked with stunt teams for Now You See Me 2 (uncredited), Doctor Strange and its sequel (uncredited) and Curfew (2019) as Thaddea Graham’s stunt double. 

Timon Singh (Founder of the Bristol Bad Film Club and Co-director of Forbidden Worlds Film Festival) 

Timon Singh is co-director of the Forbidden Worlds Film Festival and has been programming the monthly Bristol Bad Film Club for ten years that screens cult and B-movies to raise money for local charities. He produced and co-wrote the action film documentary In Search of the Last Action Heroes and wrote the books Born To Be Bad: Talking to the Greatest Villains in Action Cinema and Born To Be Bad Part II. 

Chaired by Claire Vaughn, Chapter Arts Programmer 

Claire Vaughan is Cinema Programme Manager at Chapter, an ambitious multi-platform arts centre in Cardiff and the BFI Film Audience Network Film Hub for Wales. During her time at Chapter, Claire has specialised in projects focused on access and inclusion and expanding the understanding of the history and contemporary culture of Wales on screen. Outside of Chapter she is an active founding Director of Shift, a multidisciplinary artist-led space, supporting residencies, exhibitions and performance, with an emphasis on experimental sound and performance art.  

  • 2-3pm: Cinema 3 – How do we broaden Repertory Cinema?

There is a strong tradition of rep films in cinemas from cult genre classics to Hollywood favourites but what about more independent fare and the rest of the world. This discussion will look at the role and challenges of distribution and exhibition in broadening the range of repertory films available for audiences. How can we increase the range of films beyond the comfort of the mainstream?

We will hear from a range of leading industry players including distributor Other Parties (whose Variety premieres at Cinema Rediscovered), Watershed Cinema Curator Mark Cosgrove as well as touring initiative T A P E Collective. Hosted by Joan Parsons, Interim Head of Culture and Arts for Queen’s University Belfast. 

Mark Cosgrove (Watershed Cinema Curator & Cinema Rediscovered Founder) 

Mark has worked in and been a champion of independent cinema exhibition for over 30 years. He has curated seasons and touring programmes ranging from 1971: The Year Hollywood Went Independent to retrospectives of French filmmaker Claire Denis. He is Cinema Curator at Watershed in Bristol one of the UK’s leading independent cinemas and founded Cinema Rediscovered in 2016. He has been on juries at Cannes, Venice and Berlin Film festivals and in 2010 received the ’Entrepreneur of the Year’ from Europa Cinemas. 

Twitter / Instagram  / Podcast 

Isra Al Kassi (Co-Founder, T A P E Collective) 

Isra (she/her) has a background in events management and community spaces and cinemas. She is the co-founder of  T A P E Collective and has curated for London Short Film Festival, BFI Southbank and Aesthetica Short Film Festival. Isra has more recently worked with BIFA, Inclusive Cinema, Independent Film Trust and London Film Festival, Habibi Collective and Shasha with a focus on audience development and outreach.  

Aduke King (Executive for Acquisition and Development, Other Parties) 

Other Parties are an independent entertainment company based in the UK that distributes and produces films. They describe themselves as “an acid arthouse organisation” with “carefully selected titles that meet the company’s ethos to bring vibrancy to UK film, and to challenge longstanding industry conventions.” Their first feature for theatrical release was Elegance Bratton’s documentary Pier Kids in 2021. They went on to release Laura Saman’s Small Body in 2022 and are re-issuing the restoration of Bette Gordon’s 1983 Variety on 11 Aug 2023 after its UK Premiere at Cinema Rediscovered.

Find out more about their films here.

Chaired by Joan Parsons (Interim Head of Culture and Arts for Queen’s University Belfast) 

Joan Parsons is an experienced cinema professional with over 20 years of work in the cinema sector, across all operational roles and in more recent years working in senior leadership positions. Currently Interim Head of Culture and Arts for Queen’s University Belfast, Joan leads Cinema and Gallery teams for the University while developing wider cultural projects and plans. Joan has successfully delivered financial and cultural excellence and has been involved in organising and delivering significant UK-wide partnership projects. Joan is well known in the cinema sector, attends multiple festivals annually and is often asked to speak to audiences at events and students studying film at various levels. 

 

  • 3-4pm: Cinema 3 – Restored & Rediscovered Slate Presentation

Join in our Restored & Rediscovered slate presentation hosted by Film Critic Neil Ramjee to get a better sense of what is coming up and hear about release plans from UK distributors such as Park Circus, BFI distribution, Other Parties and StudioCanal and international sales companies such as Kino Lorber. 

Candy Vincent-Smith (Senior Catalogue Project Manager at Studiocanal UK) 

Candy has been Senior Catalogue Project Manager at Studiocanal UK for over a decade, managing restorations, reissues and events from their vast library of classic film and producing content for bonus features and social channels, including the Vintage Classics label which boasts over 100 titles. 2023 highlights have included restorations of three Muriel Box titles, and The Wicker Man at 50. 

Phil Roberts (Marketing Manager – Distribution, BFI) 

Phil has been a member of the BFI marketing team since 2011, mainly working on Distribution campaigns across theatrical, physical and digital. Highlights include campaigns for BAFTA-winners Bait (2019) and  After Love (2021), along with numerous BFI restorations such as Get Carter (2022). Before joining the BFI, Phil worked in DVD marketing for the retailer HMV. Phil has a MA in Film Studies from the University of Westminster.    

Rod Rhule (Film Booker – Distribution, BFI) 

Rod has been a member of the BFI Distribution team since 2015, working on both its theatrical releases and non-theatrical back catalogue. Prior to joining the BFI, Rod worked as film programmer for a number of cinemas; including Rich Mix London and Forum Cinema Northampton.  

Aduke King (Executive for Acquisition and Development, Other Parties) 

Other Parties are an independent entertainment company based in the UK that distributes and produces films. They describe themselves as “an acid arthouse organisation” with “carefully selected titles that meet the company’s ethos to bring vibrancy to UK film, and to challenge longstanding industry conventions.” Their first feature for theatrical release was Elegance Bratton’s documentary Pier Kids in 2021. They went on to release Laura Saman’s Small Body in 2022 and are re-issuing the restoration of Bette Gordon’s 1983 Variety on 11 Aug 2023 after its UK Premiere at Cinema Rediscovered.

Find out more about their films here.

Yaël Halbron (Director International Sales & Distribution, Kino Lorber) 

Yaël Halbron  is a French national, she began her career in the Acquisitions department of the US independent film distributor Kino Lorber. She then went on to create a department dedicated to the international distribution of the company’s restorations, which she currently oversees.  

Teresa Mignolli (MUBI) 

Teresa is a Distribution Coordinator, Global at streamer and film distributor MUBI, which she joined in 2022. For the past six months she has also been working on MUBI GO, focusing on the expansion of the scheme in the UK/IE and abroad. She has previously worked at several film festivals including BFI London Film Festival, Visions du Réel (Switzerland) and Festival dei Popoli (Italy). She is also Co-artistic Director at Umbria Film Festival, Montone. 

Mosa Mpetha (Hyde Park Picture House) 

Mosa Mpetha is a curious and passionate film curator who works for Hyde Park Picture House and is particularly interested in Black and African cinema and improving access to these films for the diaspora community and ultimately making positive sector changes. Opened in 1914, the Hyde Park Picture House is a nationally connected, locally focused, community cinema; providing audiences with an inclusive space to explore and discover. www.hpph.co.uk 

Jack Chase (Marketing Manager, Park Circus) 

Jack Chase has been at Park Circus for 4 years, working across various roles in the Marketing team since 2019. As Marketing Manager, Jack leads on re-release marketing campaigns for some of the greatest films ever made, most recently RAGING BULL, LOCAL HERO, and THELMA & LOUISE, alongside showcasing the wider Park Circus theatrical and home entertainment catalogue which features titles from many of the major Hollywood and British studios. 

Twitter / Instagram 

Kate Coventry (Senior Sales Executive, Park Circus) 

Kate Coventry has been at Park Circus for 3 years as part of the Sales team, working across a number of international territories. As Senior Sales Executive, she leads on sales across the UK and Ireland, working on re-release campaigns for restorations and re-issues as well as booking the wider studio library. 

Twitter / Instagram 

 

Session Chair – Neil Ramjee

Neil Ramjee is the Community Manager for Film Hub South West. In previous lives, he has worked in both the community and commercial film scene for the last 10 years, whilst moonlighting as a culture and film critic for both print and radio. He has also employed his skills behind the camera on everything from Bollywood blockbusters to shoe-string features.
  • 4-5pm: W1/W2 – Reframing Film Meet-up

Join in our networking session for a chance to interact with other cinema, distribution and archive practitioners. You are welcome to use the space for one-to-one meetings. A member of the Cinema Rediscovered team will be around throughout so don’t hesitate to come and say hi.

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