Creative and Credible: Participatory Action Research

Roz Hall is a socially engaged arts practitioner, a photographer who has undertaken independent evaluations for many years, starting with her work with young people in digital media projects (Hall, 2005). Conventional evaluation approaches can be lacking if they do not attempt to understand the meaning of arts participation to people taking part. Participatory Action … More

Creative and Credible: Qualitative Evaluation

Qualitative data include information gathered about participants’ experiences, perspectives and opinions. They can help to understand the meaning of arts activities and processes to participants. They can reveal important subjective information as well as illuminating the process of project delivery, showing unintended consequences of projects that cannot be identified through measurement using pre defined categories. … More

Creative and Credible: Quantitative Evaluation

Even the smallest scale project evaluation involves some kind of monitoring. The purpose of this is to document project delivery, usually recording the numbers taking part, the settings where the activities took place, the types of activity offered, and the outputs from the activity, including creative outputs such as artworks, music and performance. This often … More

Leeds Young Film – INDIs Young Programmers Group

INDIs Young Programmers Group have worked to put on monthly screenings, including during and through the pandemic period. Background INDIs Young Programmers Group are a group of 16-30 year old film enthusiasts who work to put on film screenings every month. Pre-pandemic, we put on many successful in-person screenings of many independent and British films … More

Podcasting a live event can be a great way to make your valuable event reach more people though the power of audio. It can help showcase the work and document the event for future listening.

This guide has been created by Adam Zmith, Co-founder of Aunt Nell, Producer of The Log Books and The Film We Can’t See.

It is a guide for film programmers / event managers / tech people working in cinemas who want to make a podcast out of their live events. It has been created for our T.L.C (aka Tender Loving Care for Trans-Led / Trans-Loved Cinema) series of events and podcasts. The is aimed at people who would like to create a podcast and are running live events in cinemas where there will be a PA/sound system and assistance from a tech person.

This guide intends to give you broad headings for everything you need to think about, some answers for how to make it all happen, and links out to further information.

Download the How To Podcast Your Live Event guide

What this resource is

Black text on a yellow background says: Working Class Inclusion: Audiences, colleagues and programming

Inclusive Cinema’s podcast series, Working Class Inclusion: Audiences, Colleagues & Programming, provides information and guidance to support exhibitors in improving cinema experiences for working-class people and those in poverty.

The resource comprises a series of six podcast episodes that cover a range of areas, from sliding-scale ticketing and equitable employment practices, to the films that are programmed and how they are presented.

There is also an access and inclusion checklist to support venues, festivals, industry initiatives and event organisers with strategic and operational measures to welcome working-class audiences and colleagues.

The series is presented by Dr. Leanne Dawson, senior lecturer in Film and Diversity and Inclusion Consultant. 

Who this is for

The resources are intended as a practical guide to support cinemas, festivals and film exhibitors to welcome working class people as audiences and staff to their venues and increase access to independent cinema for all.

What can be achieved with the guides

Working through these 6 short podcasts we hope you can find ideas and understanding of barriers for working class people, with a view to increasing access in cinemas, and offer a chance to reflect on where your venue is currently at.

The Podcasts

Click on each link to listen to all 6 podcasts

You can download the transcript for each episode from the downloads section.

EPISODE 1: What does ‘working class’ mean and how are working class people excluded?

This introductory episode explores some issues with working class inclusion such as how we define class and that the term ‘working-class’  groups many different experiences together. 

EPISODE 2: Improving working class inclusion for free

What to reflect on your organisation and how it can take small, cost-free measures to improve it’s welcome to working class people.

EPISODE 3: Broader measures: for those who can dedicate some money to welcoming working class people

What to reflect on whilst working on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion EDI) in your organisation.

EPISODE 4: Welcoming working class audiences

Consider the barriers you create that prevent people entering and/or enjoying your space or event.

EPISODE 5: Inclusive working class programming

How to include a spectrum of working class representation onscreen.

EPISODE 6: Welcoming and retaining working class colleagues

How to ensure you have working class employees at all levels of the organisation.

You can listen to all six podcast episodes of Working Class Inclusion: Audiences, Colleagues & Programming here:

Soundcloud

Amazon

Coming soon to:

Spotify

Apple

Working Class Inclusion Checklist

We have provided a checklist of measures as suggested in the podcasts to provide your staff and venue with an easy point of reference when considering inclusion of working-class people in your work.

You can find this in the downloads section on this page. 

Working Class Programming Suggestions and Film List

We have provided a list of film suggestions which can be used for ideas and inspiration for film programmers when considering working-class representation in cinema. We’ll be updating this with distributor/access materials information as this comes in (until the end of March 2023).

You can find this in the downloads section on this page. 

Working Class Inclusion: Audiences, Colleagues & Programming - Introduction to Podcast

If you’ve ever thought about how to engage young audiences aged 16-30 but have been unsure where to start or even if you’ve begun work in this area but are now thinking about how to take it to the next level, then this is the resource for you.

Film Hub London is Young Audiences lead for FAN and we have been listening to and learning from the incredible FAN members delivering this work at venues, festivals and film societies across the UK. For this guide –  FAN’s ‘Guide to Working with Young People’ –  Moira McVean (FAN Young Audiences Manager) in collaboration with FAN Young Consultant Thea Berry has gathered case studies and examples of many of the ways you can bring young people and youth voice into your venue to authentically support you in engaging young people as young audiences for independent film.

The guide is split into chapters that highlight ways in which you can work with young people and throughout you’ll find links to supporting documents and further guidance. We’ve also included plenty of real-world quotes from both young people and venue management to help with board conversations and advocacy for the benefits of this work. Crucially, everything recommended is evidence based and grounded in research.

The introduction references research documents that have helped us determine the key barriers to young people’s attendance at independent venues with statistics that point towards the business case for young audience development.

It’s possible to read this guide as a journey that a young person could take with your organisation. Beginning as a focus group participant, moving to becoming a young writer and reviewer and onwards to Youth Advisory group member, Young Trustee, Mentee and Mentor. We have also gathered a range of case studies from across FAN detailing Young Programmer initiatives and examples of how these groups have led to the formation of independent film collectives.

So, with this resource we also want to encourage you to think about opening your venue’s doors and handing over your curatorial reigns to takeovers by these young collectives, youth led festivals and film clubs.

Significantly, all the practitioners we invited to contribute have highlighted one over-riding message and that is that to effectively attract young people to your venues and events, it is essential that you involve them in the design and development of your programmes and spaces. Therefore, our intention for this resource is to inspire and encourage more of the FAN membership to embrace and experiment with working with young people. We believe that by working with young people, taking on board their suggestions and advice and innovative ways of thinking, that the rewards will include welcoming young people into your venues as new audiences for independent film.

Download BFI FAN – GUIDE TO WORKING WITH YOUNG AUDIENCES.pdf

TLC (aka Tender Loving Care for Trans-Led / Trans-Loved Cinema) is a holding space for trans curators, writers and thinkers within cinema exhibition. An opportunity for the trans community and cis allies to celebrate, learn and share.

T.L.C, supported by delivery partners, writer and activist So Mayer and independent production company Aunt Nell, aims to help address the historic imbalance of trans representation on screen.

Across 2022 and 2023, a series of trans-focused film events took place across the UK as part of Inclusive Cinema’s T.L.C (aka Tender Loving Care for Trans-Led/Trans-Loved Cinema) project. There are some upcoming screenings too.

Integrated into indie cinema and festival programmes, films were screened, with Q&As and panels on diverse topics related to trans visibility in cinema, thanks to support from the BFI Film Audience Network (BFI FAN) awarding National Lottery funding. These events were recorded live and have been made into a podcast series.

Alongside these podcasts, there is a guide to Good Practice Examples for Tricky Questions. These questions and answers were created alongside and refer to the three T.L.C. podcasts and discussions around screenings.

PODCAST & EVENT SERIES

Listen in on brilliant discussions about trans-led and trans-loved cinema, from events across the UK. Featuring tips for programmers and new discoveries for audiences: cinema for everyone. 

FUNERAL PARADE OF ROSES (BARA NO SÔRETSU)

An audience watch a person speaking under a screen showing a still from Funeral Parade of Roses black and white photo

Curated and with an extended introduction by Lillian Crawford

Screened at the Lexi Cinema in 2022. This magnificent film shines a spotlight on the ‘gay boy’ subculture of late-1960s Japan, specifically the gender-nonconforming hostesses of a Tokyo gay bar. Up-and-coming beauty Eddie and the reigning madame Leda are fighting for the attentions of the bar’s owner, Gonda. A celebration of youth and subcultures, a condemnation of intolerance, and a one-of-a-kind cinematic experience, this is a kaleidoscopic masterpiece and one of the most intoxicating films of the 1960s. Transgender actor Pîtâ gives an astonishing performance as Eddie.

Episode 1: Get Into T.L.C. + Funeral Parade of Roses

In conversation with So Mayer, Alice Blanc (Trans+ on Screen) and Jaye Hudson (Fringe!), and in the cinema with Lillian Crawford, hosted by Rebecca del Tufo. Settle in for advice from So, Alice and Jaye on how to make your screenings gender-euphoric, and listen up for Lillian’s brilliant extended introduction to the legendary Japanese film Funeral Parade of Roses, recorded at the Lexi Cinema in London in July 2022. 

Transcript available in downloads section.

Lillian Crawford (she/her, @lillcrawf) is a freelance film and culture writer for publications including Little White Lies, Sight & Sound, Plinth, Girls on Tops, Empire, GQ, Curzon, MUBI, Massive and BBC Culture. She is also a regular host of the Autism Through Cinema podcast and her own Substack blog and pod Listen to Lillian about queer and female representation in British cinema. She can be found on Twitter and Instagram @lillcrawf

https://www.bfi.org.uk/features/why-funeral-parade-roses-landmark-japanese-queer-cinema

ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN HERE

Image Credit: The Making of Pinocchio (Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill, 2021) & No Words (2021), a short film created as part of Alchemy’s Film Town programme by Borders-based young people to articulate the pluralities of queer existence.

Milo Clenshaw, Alchemy Film & Arts 

Screened at Heart of Hawick Cinema, Hawick in July 2022. Alchemy Film & Arts presented a one-off, double-bill screening of The Making of Pinocchio (2021), Glasgow-based artists and lovers Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill‘s autobiographical exploration of Ivor’s gender transition, preceded by No Words (2021), a short film created as part of Alchemy’s Film Town programme by Borders-based young people to articulate the pluralities of queer existence.

Both films utilise an experimental approach to convey deeply personal messages around identity and society’s perceptions of queer bodies. Audiences were invited to attend a live podcast recording after the screening, at which the filmmakers were present to discuss the joys, challenges and complexities of trans cinema.

Episode 2: Anything Could Happen Here

We head to Hawick in the Borders for an event with Alchemy Film and Arts, programmed by Milo Clenshaw. Milo’s joined by four filmmakers for a flowing, in-depth discussion of local queer and trans filmmaking after a screening of their work: artists and lovers Rosana Cade and Ivor MacAskill talk about their trans reimagining of Pinocchio, a feature film called The Making of Pinocchio; and Natalie Ferguson and Katie Somers, members of a Borders-based group of young queer neurodivergent filmmakers, talk about the group’s film No Words.

Transcript available in downloads section

MAGIC MIRROR

Two people speak on stage in front of a screen featuring a still of Magic Mirror, a black and white photo.

Rebecca del Tufo x The Lexi

Curated by Juliet Jacques and followed by a Q&A with director Sarah Pucill, hosted by Juliet Jacques

MAGIC MIRROR, screened at The Lexi, London in September 2022 combines a re-staging of the French surrealist artist Claude Cahun’s black and white photographs with selected extracts from her book Aveux non avenus (1930, Confessions Denied). In Surrealist kaleidoscopic fashion, the film weaves images and words, exploring the links between Cahun’s photographs and writing and Pucill’s own films, as both artists share similar iconography and concerns.

Juliet Jacques (@zinovievletter) is a writer and filmmaker based in London. She has published three books and a volume of short stories, with her fourth book, Front Lines: Trans Journalism 2007-2021, due out in July 2022. She writes short fiction as well as journalism, essays and criticism on literature, film, art, music, politics, gender, sexuality and football. She has made two short 16mm films and directed a documentary.

http://www.sarahpucill.co.uk/films/magic-mirror/

Episode 3: Magic Mirror 

We travel back to the Lexi in London for a second screening hosted by programmer Rebecca del Tufo – this time with the filmmaker in attendance! Juliet Jacques is on hand to introduce Magic Mirror, Sarah Pucill’s first film about genderqueer artists and lovers Claude Cahun and Marcel Moore, and she returns for an exhilarating deep-dive Q&A with the filmmaker after the screening. Together, Juliet and Sarah cover Cahun’s biography and artistic practice, Pucill’s experimental filmmaking practices, and theoretical questions of self, other, identity and creativity. 

Transcript available in downloads section

BORN TO BE

Poster for film Born to be. A still of person with long curly hair in the middle of the poster. in the background and foreground are still photos of various close ups op peoples faces showing emotions. The stills are all tinted in purple, pink or yellow pastel tones. The film title "Born to Be" is in bold black capitals at the top, with a smaller tagline: "When you see yourself, who do you see?"

Born To Be followed by a Q&A discussion with Laura Kate Dale in person, and joined by the film’s director Tania Cypriano and Dr Jess Ting via Zoom. The discussion was hosted by the Phoenix Cinema’s Bea Copland.

BORN TO BE, a documentary screened at the Phoenix Cinema, Orkney in March 2023, follows the work of Dr. Jess Ting (he/him) at the groundbreaking Mount Sinai Center for Transgender Medicine and Surgery. There, for the first time ever in New York City, transgender and gender non-binary people have access to quality gender-affirming care.

With extraordinary access, this documentary offers an intimate look at how one doctor’s work impacts the lives of his patients as well as how his journey from renowned plastic surgeon to pioneering gender-affirming specialist has led to his own transformation.

Laura Kate Dale is an autistic trans woman, author, and activist. Her memoir, Uncomfortable Labels, focused on life at the intersection of living life both trans and autistic. Gender Euphoria, her second book, was an anthology of positive, real life, gender affirming stories from non cisgender writers. Her first children’s book, Me and My dysphoria Monster, aims to discuss gender dysphoria in child appropriate language, with illustrations to bring to life a very internal experience. Laura has helped organise trans rights protests across the UK, alongside working as an accessibility focused video game critic.

Podcast for BORN TO BE at Phoenix Cinema, Orkney, coming soon.

You can listen to all three podcasts here:

T.L..C on Podbean

T.L.C on Spotify

T.L.C on Apple

T.L.C on Amazon

PARTNERS & CURATORS

The Lexi is London’s only social enterprise cinema, a volunteer-run picture palace with strong links not just to its local community but also to a unique charity project in South Africa. It has recently opened its Hub and refurbished its main screen. Join us in Kensal Rise at 194b Chamberlayne Road, London NW10 3JU www.thelexicinema.co.uk

Rebecca del Tufo is a freelance film programmer combined with roles in film production and exhibition. She led the team which set up and ran independent cinema Saffron Screen in Saffron Walden, Essex and programmed the successful cinema for over 10 years. In 2021 she co-founded the not-for-profit organisation ScreenCraft Works to support under-represented talent in behind-the-camera roles.
deltuforebecca@gmail.com

Alchemy Film & Arts is based in the Scottish Borders town of Hawick. They work with communities and artists both locally and internationally, using film as a way to come together, have conversations and make positive change. Across a year-round programme of screenings, workshops, residencies, community filmmaking and the internationally renowned Alchemy Film and Moving Image Festival, they strive to create spaces in which collective expression, creative learning and critical thinking can take place.
https://alchemyfilmandarts.org.uk

Trans+ On Screen is a directory representing trans, non-binary and gender non-conforming professionals in all areas of Film and TV, from(pre-)production to distribution. They operate as a business model which challenges industry norms, and distances itself from agency fees and tokenistic hires, in favour of a model based on care and empowerment. They prioritise and elevate voices from a community that needs to be heard (and seen), to show a revolutionising way the industry can run.
https://transonscreen.com

Alice Blanc, the founder – works at Endeavor as a Materials Executive. They are also part of the BIFA Advisory Board and the Iris Prize Film Festival Committee, and currently studying Entertainment Business and Management at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Alice has experience working in the pre-production industry and distribution, in both film & TV.

What is T.L.C.?

Recent years have seen the release of trans-led and trans-made indie gems from around the world such as Isabel Sandoval’s award-winning Lingua Franca, Cássio Pereira dos Santos’s Valentina, and Max Currie’s Rūrangi. At the same time, trans-inclusive TV shows such as Pose, Sex Education, Euphoria and We Are Who We Are – not to mention Drag Race and Queer Eye – compel large audiences who are passionate about trans and queer storytelling and performance. How can venues, festivals and programmers bring those passionate audiences to the cinema for unique film experiences – and ensure that brilliant films are reaching the audiences they deserve? What kinds of marketing, educational and contextual materials might venues, festivals and programmers use, and where can they find them? Which critics, publications, socials and podcasts can provide support, speakers and strong content? What sort of in-cinema or social events, online promotions or content, can support compelling films and create returning audiences?

In addition, for these films to be embraced, we need to think about making spaces feel welcoming to audiences and speakers, and safe for staff. How can venues and festivals ensure that trans audience members and staff feel safe, supported and welcome at events, in-venue and in online conversations? What kind of practical and immediate changes could be put in place to give everyone the best experience – and what sort of training or resources might best support that for venues, festivals and organisations of all scales? How can you ensure the whole team is educated and feels confident in intersectional trans inclusion, without depending on a token trans person to educate you? What can programmers and organisers do to ensure that trans speakers and other freelancers feel included and cared for? How can you create spaces to hear from trans audience members, staff and freelancers who might feel excluded from your venue and/or events, or have had negative experiences in the past, and put plans in place to address that exclusion?

We know that all of these questions and more are already being asked and answered by venues, festivals, event organisers, curators, programmers, distributors, filmmakers and audiences. We know that best practice is already happening across the nations and regions, at all scales of event – and we want you to shout about your amazing work, great ideas and brilliant teams, so we can keep growing through exchange and listening, creating a grassroots resource that everyone can learn with. That’s T.L.C.