Brixton Community Cinema

Brixton Community Cinema is a pop-up cinema, intended to bring affordable, international and independent film to a community who, despite immense cultural contributions, face uneven access to arts institutions.

Cinema For All spoke to Brixton Community Cinema about all things programming, from seasonal programming to working with your community to curate a balanced programme.

How do you build your programme and decide which films to screen?

I’ve always been interested in what resonates locally and addresses issues that are relevant to Brixton residents, but in a subtle or unexpected way. Because Brixton and Lambeth are such global areas there is so much scope in terms of using international cinema to mirror back dynamics that are local, familiar and/or relevant. BCC's programming is also influenced by the cultural calendar, so thinking about things like Valentine’s Day or ESEA (East and South East) heritage month and what can we can do to commemorate or celebrate these dates differently - see our True Romance season for example - and responding to current affairs which has seen us screen films in response to the Mahsa Amini protests in Iran, and the natural disasters which struck Libya and Morocco in Autumn 2023.

What are the challenges in putting together a balanced programme?

I think we all have preferences and blindspots, so putting aside personal taste (to a degree!) to consider what wider audiences might enjoy. This is why it’s so important for BCC to hold open calls for members of the public to pitch screening ideas, and collaborate with a broad range of interest groups who do creative, thoughtful work in and beyond the film world, which helps us cover a broader base of genre and audience.

How has your programming changed as Brixton Community Cinema has grown and developed its audience?

Developing a larger audience has allowed us to be more ambitious, planning seasons rather than individual screenings, and also to take risks showing films that are more challenging such as Shu Lea Cheang’s Fresh Kill, or be more playful, for example when we screened Gossip Girl for Thanksgiving. It’s also pushed BCC to run more interactive events with things like karaoke or shared meals, as it became clear people wanted to stay and talk following events, and these kinds of activities help facilitate that.

What advice would you give to someone who is looking to expand the breadth of their programming?

I would encourage them to attend more screenings, identify what did and didn’t work for them at these screenings, and take it from there, channelling their findings into their programming. If it feels appropriate, collaborations, be that by widening programming volunteers, holding open calls for emerging filmmakers to submit, or partnering with other groups is a great way to expand programming. That being said, I would also question the desire to expand and if you’re genuinely motivated to do so, because it is also completely fine to stick to and develop a niche.

What has been your most memorable screening experience?

Probably a series of 36 free screenings we did in Summer 2023, when the London Festival of Architecture commissioned us to programme an outdoor cinema in Brixton for 3 weeks, where each screening was curated by a different organisation working at the intersection of culture and social justice, making for an incredibly varied programme. We were on one of the busiest roads in the neighborhood and anyone walking along the road could see the films being played and join in for as long as they liked.