access>CINEMA’s Stephen McNeice recently attended the Independent Cinema Office’s (ICO) Cultural Cinema Exhibition course in London. Below, he reports back on what he learned during the week-long programme.
Thanks to support from Screen Ireland and access CINEMA, in mid-January I was lucky enough to attend the week-long Cultural Cinema Exhibition course in London – the Independent Cinema Office’s flagship course. This year’s event marked the 12th edition of the course, though it was also the first time since the beginning of the COVID pandemic that it has returned as an in-person event.
The course had plenty to live up to. My colleagues Karen and Maeve had both completed it in the past, and highly recommended it. Their recommendations were well justified – this is a brilliant, thorough course that does an excellent job of offering participants a deep dive into the world of film programming, from the practicalities of securing films and publicising screenings to the broader philosophy of developing a film programme for different audiences.
After meeting the course cohort and ICO staff at introductory drinks on Saturday January 11th, the course proper began bright and early on Sunday morning with a full day of screenings of upcoming independent and world cinema titles. The ICO held back the names of the titles prior to Sunday in order to give us a ‘blind’ programming experience – the day therefore began by ICO’s David Sin revealing that we’d be watching Sister Midnight, Hard Truths, Memoir of a Snail and I’m Still Here. These films were then used as a basis for several programming exercises and workshops throughout the course.
There were 18 participants on this year’s course, and having spoken to all of them over the course of the week they were a fantastic group with a wide range of interests and experiences. They included representatives from: community & independent cinemas; film festivals (large & small); cultural cinema distributors; archive film organisations; film education groups and more. The range of interests within the room led to many vibrant conversations throughout the week, and it was particularly great working in small groups over the course of the week to hear so many different perspectives brought to the table.
Panels, discussions and workshops

On Monday morning we all gathered in a meeting room at the CitizenM Tower Bridge hotel, where we’d be based for the remainder of the week. ICO’s David Sin and Catharine Des Forges introduced the course and the ICO. I’d encountered the ICO before through virtually attending their regular screening day events, but I was struck how their mission is in many ways similar to that of access CINEMA. While they work predominantly with full-time venues, their focus on supporting community cinema organisations and ensuring audiences nationally have access to a broad range of cinema very much resonates with access CINEMA’s day-to-day work. As someone working on developing my own programming skills and voice, it was clear early on that this course would be ideally suited to my own work and interests.
What followed was five intense but fascinating days of speakers, panels, conversations and group exercises. Industry leaders who attended over the week included representatives from major distributors and exhibitors such as BFI, Curzon, Studiocanal, Barbican, Altitude, Met Film and Sony Pictures. We heard from some of those behind successful independent cinemas in the UK such as Watershed Bristol, Electric Palace Hastings and the Rio Cinema’s Pink Palace queer film club, as well as representatives from the film PR, marketing and journalism fields. Thursday had a particular focus on reaching different audiences, including a panel on collaborating with different communities and conversations on programming experimental and archive film programmes.
The real strength of the course was how every topic covered was hyper-focused on the subject at hand – all designed to get us thinking about a different aspect of film programming. While all the speakers were speaking from a predominantly UK perspective, the strong crossover between the UK and Irish distribution / exhibition scene meant much of the conversation was extremely applicable to my own Irish experiences – indeed, some of the speakers were ones we have worked with in access CINEMA before. Even some of the more specialised or UK-centric topics touched on over the course of the week offered welcome insights and ideas worthy of further exploration in an Irish context.
While all sessions over the course of the week were beneficial, I’d particularly like to highlight some of the conversations around audience development and independent cinemas. Many of the insights gained in these conversations are ones I’ll be thinking about in my own programming work – from tips around communications and audience feedback, to long-term planning and how to set achievable, realistic goals. I’ll also remember the playful mantra of ‘being excessive’ in both your enthusiasm and care when reaching out to new audiences.
Another thought-provoking panel concerned connecting with different audiences. This included observations from David Ellington (Director, VS1 Productions) on programming for deaf and hard of hearing audiences; Sanaa Masud (Broader Project Coordinator, Broadway Cinema) on working with charities and community groups; and Selina Robertson (film programmer, researcher & curator) on her work with feminist and LGBTQ+ film programmes. Film programming is often prone to programmers’ own biases and focus on regular, familiar audiences. This panel was a powerful and thought-provoking discussion on thinking outside those ‘safe’ boxes, and a reminder to meaningfully engage with new audiences rather than just assuming you know what they’d like to see.
Group project
On Monday evening, the course cohort was split into four different groups and asked to present a programming idea on Friday. My own group ultimately presented a project called ‘Take Two!’ – proposing a monthly independent cinema strand pairing emerging filmmakers’ new films with the classics that inspired them. The feedback by the ICO team was extremely helpful and constructive – offering genuinely insightful pros and cons for each of the four projects presented. It was a great way to wrap up the week, and it was interesting to see how different individuals and groups picked up on particular threads explored throughout the course.
All in all, it proved an intense but rewarding week. It was certainly a lot to take in over just six days. But that’s ultimately a good complaint to have. Overall, it was illuminating in all the best ways. It felt like a productive dialogue between the course participants and leaders. For me, the course prompted lots of ideas and possibilities for the short-term – from simple improvements to communication tactics (especially in a fractured social media environment) to new ways of seeking audience feedback and participation. These are ideas I’d be keen to explore both in access CINEMA’s regular programming work and also our annual Japanese Film Festival efforts. It also prompted me to think more long-term – around strategies for programming for different audiences, but also the different ways to measure results and success. Several of the speakers emphasised that results can take time, while also acknowledging the resource and financial challenges that come with taking the time to develop an audience. It was the mix of passion and realism that really set this course apart. For anyone early in their programming career or looking to develop their skills, this is certainly the course for you – and hopefully demand is high enough that there’ll be another edition sooner rather than later.
The final panel of the week spoke about the future of film exhibition, with the conversation bluntly addressing the challenges and opportunities of the current cinema landscape. Despite the often stark realities, there was a clear sense from all speakers that there are undoubtedly audiences out there still passionate about cinema-going, as well as potential audiences that most distributors and exhibitors have yet to reach. The 18 of us on the course spent six long days thinking about how to reach both old and new viewers – and I’m sure everyone went their separate ways thinking about how to put all those ideas into action. I know I certainly did.
Thanks again to access>CINEMA, Screen Ireland and the ICO for the opportunity.
Main image: The participants in the 2025 Cultural Cinema Exhibition course in London. Image: James Calver / ICO