In 2019, This Way Up took to Nottingham for the event’s sixth edition, which kicked off with opening sessions reflecting the key themes of the overall conference: Celebration, Resilience and The Future.

The conference featured more talks around inclusion than ever before, and we at Inclusive Cinema captured four of our favourite talks so those who couldn’t make the event could still get the benefit of case studies and insights shared.

The talks below are provided by the following speakers:

Rabab Ghazoul, the Founder & Director of Welsh cultural organisation platform Gentle/Radical, shared her vision of what the future of working with audiences could be. What does ‘outreach’ look like now, and what could it become?

Karena Johnson, Artistic Director and CEO, Hoxton Hall, shared her experience of re-launching Hoxton Hall, a Victorian music hall, and tackling the sometimes uncomfortable issue of diversity. She led a workshop session where delegates were invited to explore their own approach. She spoke about shifting organisational culture, bringing a team with you on a journey and how to manage expectations.

Rico Johnson-Sinclair, Director and Programmer of CineQ Birmingham discussed campaigning for queer, trans, and intersex people of colour’s stories on screen and how he reaches audiences.

Nikki Stratton, Co-Founder & Director, Deaffest looked at the best ways to market to D/deaf audiences. Catherine Downes (Co-Founder, usheru) discussed their work aiming to reach those that start the ticket-buying process but don’t complete the all-important checkout process. With tips and tricks to maximise the potential of your marketing output.

Outreach: Decoloniality & Revolution - Rabab Ghazoul

Diversifying the cultural landscape - Karena Johnson

Marketing: Reaching your target audience - Rico Johnson-Sinclair

The best way to market to Deaf audiences - Nikki Stratton

Autism in BAME Communities – YouTube video

A Fixers campaign led by Benice Asante-Boahene. Fearing that autism is misunderstood by some members of black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) communities, Benice Asante-Boahene is raising awareness of the condition. The 25-year-old from London wants to tackle the myths surrounding autism that she feels exist within some cultures, helping people to receive more support … More

Autism and BAME people

The 700,000 autistic people in the UK come from all backgrounds, identities and cultures. There is a lack of research about the experience of people from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) groups, but our 2014 research (see our report, Diverse Perspectives) suggests it can be even harder for people from BAME backgrounds to get a … More

National Intergenerational Week

National Intergenerational Week is all about celebrating those moments and places where different age groups come together for shared benefit.

In changing times, parents are having children later in life, and living greater distances from their own parents. Given current impacts from Covid-19, we are having to segregate and isolate, with a particular focus on 70+ year olds being forced into self-isolation, there is a need now, more than ever, to focus on positive communities. How can we bring together older and younger generations safely in a way that supports friendship?

St. Monica Trust think it’s about time we change the way we do things.  They aim is to get as many people talking about existing intergenerational projects in their local area as possible. Find out how to get involved in National Intergenerational Week.

Let’s pool our collective experience into sharing ideas for tackling social isolation – whether through in-person events or via online sessions and emails, phone calls and social media. Share your ideas for supporting intergenerational connections on the hashtag #IntergenerationalWeek

Intergenerational projects and cinema

Cinema can be an inspiring and powerful tool for developing intergenerational projects. Find some inspiration on this page about previous and existing projects, or information for further research and planning ideas. Share your organisation’s projects or those local to you with the online world during #IntergenerationalWeek

Online ideas

Could you:

  • set up a watch party between younger and older individuals and have a chat on Zoom/Skype after the film?
  • run an online drawing, poetry or drama workshop, using a film as a theme?
  • watch some archive film available through BFI Player or a regional archive website, and run a reminiscence workshop online?
  • buddy up a younger person and an older person to have a chat online each week about a short or feature film they’ve seen?

Share your experiences

We would love to know about your Intergenerational film or cinema project at Inclusive Cinema. If you’d like to submit your own case study, please download this Inclusive screening case study template and submit it to toki[at]filmhubwales.org, so we can share your experiences, too.

Local 12: Generation to Generations uses film for intergenerational mentoring

Seeing the Funny Side

Project overview Part of BFI Comedy Genius, Sign for All collaborated with Women Over Fifty Film Festival (WOFFF) and The New Black Film Collective (TNBFC) in screening silent short films for the deaf community in Birmingham’s MAC and London’s Stratford East Picturehouse. The screenings also included stand up Deaf Comedian Rinkoo Barpaga. Why the project … More

Opening Our Doors was a day of workshops and talks developed by Film Hub Wales, aimed at highlighting inclusivity and equality in film exhibition. The event was aimed at exhibitors seeking to capacity build within their own cinemas. It was a tailor-made day of workshops, case studies and discussions by experts and FAN members for FAN members aimed to boost exhibitor confidence in being more inclusive.

Working closely with Film Hub Scotland, and forming part of their Amplify programme, an Opening our Doors day was delivered in January 2019 to support members of the network in understanding and engaging with diverse communities including low-income, BAME, and disabled groups. The event also referenced programming, and marketing for diverse audiences.

The BFI diversity standards task exhibitors with supporting better inclusion in cinema, such as inclusion for those with additional needs and for those who might feel culturally excluded.

Many of us know about the barriers that are in front of us when we talk about building diverse audiences. We don’t really get the time to consider and talk about our options, our fears, talk to our peers and come up with solutions to improve what we offer.

Diversity and Inclusion: an overview - Myriam Mouflih

Race and unconcious bias in film - Umulkhayr Mohamed

How to welcome lower income communities into your cinema - Helen Wright