Day 4 of the Lab brought ideas and issues to a close by focussing on collaboration and the network’s funding support available through the Collaborate to Innovate (CTI) initiative.
Jens Lanestrand opened the morning by asking participants to take a moment to celebrate; criticism comes too easily and celebrating actually changes the way our brains work, for the better. Thinking more creatively, paving the way for optimism and courage, celebration is a reminder to stay curious, generous and playful. After all, Lanestrand said, innovation is born of curiosity, attention and joy.
Collaboration, Inclusion and impact: from ideas to action
Erika Borsos presented their CTI funded project, Film Therapy Film Club, a collaboration between cinemas in Austria, Hungary and Romania. The first discovery was that the idea already existed, but this was actually a positive finding as it proved the project idea was sustainable. The previous project, Film Recipes for Mental Health was developed in the wake of Covid, involving cinemas in Lithuania, Greece and Romania. Film Recipes involved screenings introduced by a psychologist, followed by discussion. Workshops led to the creation of a “film recipe book” and short films for participants to share their experiences, analyse films from the perspective of feelings, and recommend films to others. Film Therapy Film Club had its own distinct focus. In addition to screenings introduced by a trained therapist, their iteration had a clear focus on engaging young audiences (age 13-25) through creative workshops.
Borsos talked about the management of the project, and how engaging an external project manager can really help with time and human resources, especially in relation to the cinema team capacity. Borsos also went through the KPIs (key performance indicators) for the project, emphasising how important it is to have clarity around how the KPIs are set and evaluated.
Sara Šabec from KD Cernika in Slovenia then presented their CTI supported project Cinema Without Barriers, which equipped participating cinemas in creating accessible screenings for deaf, hard-of-hearing and blind and visually impaired Slovenian communities. Ensuring films have sign language, audio description and subtitles, the aim was for accessible cinema to reach beyond major cities into rural areas and smaller towns. Developing accessible tools and inclusive communications, the project looked to create long-term, sustainable change.
“A symbol of courage, willingness to fail, have fun, learn and build something together.”
Jens Lanestrand then presented on Data Sharing: a new way of building audiences for small and medium sized arthouse cinemas in Sweden, 2023-24. The core idea was to build a shared structure to connect data, and to make it useful and accessible for everyone beyond large chains and distributors. The challenge was that independent cinemas lacked access to any shared comparable audience data; exhibitors and distributors were working in silos. Not knowing at that time how to set or measure KPIs, one key learning from the project was that KPIs should not simply be set to please funders but designed to really understand and measure project impact.
Working to a tight timeline, with complex systems, some data was lost. “But innovation is also about exploring and experimenting, not always knowing exactly where it will lead,” Lanestrand said. What came out of the project, though, was the desire and impetus to build a new, sustainable business model. “In this way, the project was a real breakthrough and gave cinemas access to real data for the first time in Sweden.” Finally having something to benchmark and compare with, the cinemas who really embraced the project are now seeing clear results. There was a 10% increase in performance across the 22 cinemas engaged with the shared network. “The real success is in creating a network that is collaborative not competitive,” Lanestrand said.
Working in groups, participants created projects focusing on setting KPIs, setting budgets, and broad plans for project management. Developing innovative ideas and rough project plans, the enthusiasm, energy and bright ideas they came up with were incredibly impressive. Plans for inclusive cinema, programmes for young people, and new data collection methods were among the initiatives presented.
The next call for Collaborate to Innovate applications will open in December 2025, closing in February 2026. There is an online workshop on November 18th 11am-12.30pm CET. Please contact Nadia Wolf, Co-ordinator for CTI at Europa Cinemas for more information.
Cinema: A place to bring everyone together
Catherine Lemaire presented their project La Perche, designed to promote inclusive issues and make cinema accessible. The primary objective was to raise awareness abut accessibility in the audiovisual sector with a secondary imperative to encourage and support other cultural venues and cinemas to organise accessible screenings, too.
They began by acknowledging their lack of understanding about access and inclusivity. “You have to do it with them, not for them, or it won’t last,” Lemaire said. “For these projects to be sustainable, you really need to believe in them.” Their first significant learning was being told that the idea of having siloed screenings – where one disability or need is catered to, separate from able audiences, contributed to feelings of isolation rather than feeling inclusive. To become inclusive, the cinema needed to offer multiple forms of access for screenings are for everyone: seating to accommodate reduced mobility, having a relaxed area in the cinema, offering a magnetic induction loop, audio description, subtitles and lowered sound and low lighting levels. They also have some smartphones available if there are people who don’t have or didn’t bring one.
Financing without subsidy is challenging and ticket pricing is reduced to €7.00 (a “solidarity price” that anyone can ask for without any burden to prove eligibility). It is essential, Lemaire said, to remember that many disabilities are invisible, too. Not making assumptions about what people want or need is important, ensuring their autonomy so that the screenings aren’t designed simply to accommodate but to empower.
Hester Noordhuis from Slieker Film in the Netherlands presented some of the changes they have made to their venue and operations to be more accessible and inclusive. Their first realisation was that they didn’t know the people they weren’t connecting with in their local communities. Initial steps to change included collaborating with communities directly to understand what changes needed to take place. Changes they’ve already implemented include: lowering the height of the ticket desk and having a “silent room” where people can go – for any reason at all but also if the festival atmosphere gets to be too much. They have established an accessibility working group to continue this work and also collaborate with local refugee support groups and the local Queer communities.
Barbora Suchynová from Kino Art in the Czech Republic also spoke about their cinema mission to become “a safe space” for Queer, student and ex-pat communities, which includes offering Czech and other non-English language movies with English subtitles. They also work with the film archive in Prague to show films from Czech film history with English subtitles and introduced by a film historian to contextualise the film, and the cinema staff speak some English in order to welcome and communicate with this audience group.
As the Lab drew to a close, the group reflected on the past four days and some of the positive changes that could be implemented in their cinemas in the coming months. From inspiration to developing CTI projects, starting Minicinema for parents & babies, and experimenting with using AI to streamline workflow, there was a real sense of confidence and inspiration in the room. Thanks to the collaborative working processes in the Lab and the generous spirit in which individuals engaged with the work, many will return home equipped with new ideas and inspiration to continue the important work they do and the shared aims of the network.
