FILM PROGRAMMING

 
 

I’m interested in curating film programmes that are engaging, inspiring, inclusive and representative of audiences, and of the society we live in. I am keen to highlight stories and voices that are under-represented in the current film landscape. I also have a keen interest in film noir, horror, and films exploring tales of identity. Over the years, I have consciously curated film programmes and seasons to try and address the disparities between what is offered to audiences, and who those audiences are. In my role at Warwick Arts Centre, where I oversaw the entirety of the film programme for 18 months, 29% of films were directed or co-directed by women, 23% of films were directed or co-directed by filmmakers from under-represented ethnicities, 32% of films were in a foreign language, and 17% of all screenings were shown with descriptive subtitles.

Screen 4, Broadway Cinema - ©Ashley Bird

Screen 4, Broadway Cinema - ©Ashley Bird

FILM SEASONS

Below is a selection of film seasons and retrospectives I curated over the years.

  • Show Me Your Teeth - an exploration of feminism, vampirism and the role of women in vampiric tales including The Hunger (1983), Twilight (2008), Dracula - Pages from a Virgin’s Diary (2012), Ganja & Hess (1973), A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (2014) + panel discussion, Dracula’s Daughter (1936), and Queen of the Damned (2012). Part of the BFI’s In Dreams Are Monsters.

  • So What’s My Future? - a look at hopeful futures through comics, graphic novels and manga screen adaptations including Ghost World (2001) + panel discussion, Hugo (2007), Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984), Days of the Bagnold Summer (2019), Persepolis (2007) and Black Panther (2018). Part of the BFI’s Film Feels: Hopeful.

  • Commemorating 50 Years Since the Moon Landing - a season of films including Despicable Me (2010), Armstrong (2019), First Men in the Moon (1963), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Moon (2009) and a programme of short films.

  • Laurel & Hardy - a sold-out short retrospective including Sons of the Desert (1933), Way Out West (1937), The Flying Deuces (1939) and Atoll K (1950).

  • Liberté, Égalité, Hilarité: a look at French comedy geniuses as part of BFI’s Comedy Genius blockbuster season - including La Grande Vadrouille (1966), C’est La Vie (2017), L’Auberge Rouge (1957) and Le Père Noël Est Une Ordure (1982) with extended introduction. Part of the BFI’s Comedy Genius.

  • Joan Crawford - a short retrospective including Mildred Pierce (1945), The Women (1939), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962) and Johnny Guitar (1954), and two introductions from director Jeanie Finlay.

  • Viva Varda! - a retrospective of Agnès Varda's work including Cléo de 5 à 7 (1962), Vagabonde (1985), Les Plages d’Agnès (2008), Mur Murs (1981) and Black Panthers (1968).

  • Revolt, She Said: Women and Film After '68 - a collaboration with Club des Femmes and the Independent Cinema Office featuring One Sings, the Other Doesn't (1977), Daisies (1966) + Saute Ma Ville (1968), and A Place of Rage (1991) + Nice Coloured Girls (1987) with extended introduction.

  • Orson Welles 100th anniversary retrospective - featuring Chimes at Midnight (1965), Touch of Evil (1958) with introduction by film critic and writer Christina Newland, The Lady from Shanghai (1947), Citizen Kane (1941) and Too Much Johnson (1938) with extended introduction.

MAYHEM FILM FESTIVAL

Since 2015, I have been part of the programming team for Mayhem Film Festival, a horror, sci-fi and cult film festival based in Nottingham. Headlines from the past few years include:

  • Mayhem Film Festival 2022 - including preview screenings of Huesera, Freaks Out, Watcher, the UK Premieres of Birdemic 3: Sea Eagle and Jethica, and a Short Film Showcase made of 13 films, including 1 World Premiere and 3 UK Premieres.

  • Mayhem Film Festival 2021 - including preview screenings of Lamb, Hellbender, the UK Premiere of Spiritwalker, the European Premiere of The Night Shift, and a Short Film Showcase made of 9 films, including 1 International Premiere and 2 UK Premieres.

  • Mayhem Film Festival 2020: Skeleton Edition - including preview screenings of Boys from County Hell, The Oak Room, the UK Premiere of PG: Psycho Goreman, and a Short Film Showcase made of 13 films, including 4 UK Premieres.

  • Mayhem Film Festival 2019 - including the UK Premieres of Sword of God (The Mute), The Pool, After Midnight, The Gangster The Cop The Devil, and Door Lock, and our biggest Short Film Showcase yet with 16 films.

  • Short Film Showcase 2018 - including the World Premiere of Owen Tooth’s Hunted, UK Premiere of Richard Littler’s Dick & Stewart: I Spy With My Little Eye, UK Premiere of Kevin Sluder’s Heartless, UK Premiere of Jorge Malpica’s Ulises.

  • Short Film Showcase 2017 - including the World Premiere of Liam Banks's After Party, UK Premiere of Don Swaynos's Don't Ever Change, UK Premiere of Laurel Vail's What Metal Girls Are Into, Amelia Moses's Undress Me.

  • Short Film Showcase 2016 - including the World Premiere of Liam Banks's Sandman, World Premiere of Tristan Ofield's White Lily, UK Premiere of L.Gustavo Cooper's The Home, Calvin Lee Reeder's The Procedure, and Rob Savage's Dawn of the Deaf.

  • Short Film Showcase 2015 - including the World Premiere of Richard Mansfield's Count Magnus, Brian Lonano's Crow Hand!!!, Melanie Light's The Herd, and Alice Lowe's Solitudo.