New Audience Initiative

What is the New Audiences Initiative?

The New Audiences Initiative (NAI) is access > CINEMA’s programme aimed at offering our network of cinemas and clubs additional marketing and promotional support to one film per quarter. It could be:

a challenging film that’s outside the mainstream but deserving of an audience
a film that tackles distinctively Irish stories or prominently features the Irish language
a film from a country that is rarely represented on Irish screens
a documentary title that may not otherwise be considered as part of sites’ typical programming
a film that explores important representational issues or offers a fresh cinematic perspective
a small, independent film that could benefit from screenings targeting a particular audience

The ultimate goals are to help increase the diversity of films screening across the
access >CINEMA network; to raise the profile of films that may have received no commercial release or a very limited release in Ireland; and above all to help attract new audiences who may not otherwise have engaged with a venue’s cultural cinema programme.

What supports are offered?

For every NAI title, access>CINEMA produces a dedicated marketing kit offering guidance and advice on promoting screenings of the film. Tailored social media assets are also produced and sent to programmers ahead of their screening.

In addition, sites screening the titles can apply for marketing funding to help promote their screening.

Where possible, additional extras and bonus material will also be provided for NAI titles. For example, exclusive Q&As have been recorded to accompany access>CINEMA screenings of two NAI titles – Roise & Frank and Love According to Dalva.

What is the latest NAI title?

The latest NAI title is the Japanese drama Small, Slow But Steady. You can find out more info about the film and its NAI supports here: https://www.accesscinema.ie/news/latest-new-audiences-initiative-films-available-to-programmers-this-autumn

What are previous NAI titles?

Previous titles supported by NAI are:

Leave No Traces (Poland)
Roise & Frank (Ireland)
Return to Dust (China)
All The Beauty and the Bloodshed (USA)
Love According to Dalva (Belgium)
Small, Slow But Steady (Japan)

The New Audiences Initiative has been made possible with the help of Screen Ireland’s Building Back Audiences: Cinema Stimulus Fund.