As a volunteer with Kinokulture Community Cinema in Shropshire I have attended a number of these screening events in the past and it's always been a privilege to be able to contribute to the programming of our local cinema. After the Covid years, it felt special to be able to return to attending in person and to once again have access to all the networking opportunities that provides. As you will aware, for us at Kinokulture this is particularly bitter-sweet as regrettably our lovely little cinema is closing its doors for the last time in March 2023.
The Science Museum as a venue was super welcoming and inclusive and having three very different cinema spaces was interesting. From the intimacy of the Cubby Broccoli cinema to the size and presence of the IMAX, this gave me an opportunity to experience the effects of size and scale on immersion and storytelling. The museum had lifts and appeared to me to address accessibility to the event, although the IMAX was a steep walk up for some!
The theme that leapt out to me in the films I saw was death, ranging from the young suicide in 'Close' to the unhappy Empress of 'Corsage' to the trauma of 'The Silent Twins'. However, this was not a depressing theme, in fact it felt elemental and life-affirming. I was able to discuss with the distribution person for Corsage how they saw this film being placed within programming of other similar recent films and it made sense for Kinokulture and the different strands of audiences we have. While documentaries regrettably do not always draw in the audiences where we live, I see the potential of Nan Goldin's 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed' has having potential to play well with it's dual themes of art and addiction. 'The Myanmar Diaries' potentially too.
Juliet received a bursary from Film Hub Midlands to attend the ICO Autumn Screening Days.