ICO, Sweden's Biografcentralen partner on training scheme

The UK’s Independent Cinema Office is teaming with Sweden’s Biografcentralen (Cinema Centre,) on a partnership that will identify 15 exhibitors from Swedish arthouse cinemas and their counterparts in the UK for work placements, job shadowing and training.

The Leonardo Programme, part of the European Union’s Lifelong Learning Programme,  awarded Biografcentralen €41,000 to fund the project.

Preparations will begin later this year and the project will initially run for 12 months, with placements commencing in spring 2013.

The two organisations are aiming for a reciprocal exchange of UK exhibitors to Sweden in future years.

“This is exciting news which will offer an injection of international inspiration for Swedish independent cinemas. These cinemas, run by either local authorities or non-profit organizations are a huge asset to the sector as they screen a diverse range of films to the Swedish audience. Biografcentralenis honored to be working with the ICO to enable interaction and exchange between the UK and Swedish independent cinema sectors,” said Jens Lanestrand, CEO of Biografcentralen.

“This project is a perfect fit with the ICO’s mission to further professionalize the independent film exhibition sector and to make the cultural film industry more sustainable and competitive in the long term,” added Tilly Walnes, head of exhibitor development, Independent Cinema Office. “In the last few years the ICO’s training programme has expanded from national to international in scale, and we are excited to be working with our Swedish colleagues on this work placement exchange programme.”