UK cinema distributor the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) has launched a screening programme for independent films that have not managed to secure UK distribution.
The programme, named Off-Circuit, “intends to address a shared frustration from audiences and industry alike around the fact that so many significant works acclaimed internationally never reach UK screens,” according to ICA Cinema curator Nicolas Raffin.
“Off-Circuit’s main purpose is to contribute to filling that gap, by bringing a selection of these works to our screens, on a week-long run.”
The programme, which launches today (October 5), has selected four films for its inaugural run: Wang Bing’s Man In Black and Kleber Mendonca Filho’s Pictures Of Ghosts, both of which launched at Cannes 2023; Helena Wittmann’s Locarno 2022 title Human Flowers of Flesh; and Sofia Bohdanowicz, Burak Cevik and Blake Williams’ 2022 title A Woman Escapes.
All four films will have UK premieres as part of the Off-Circuit programme at the ICA Cinema in London. The programme is fully funded by the ICA, and aims to run two films per month.
“This series will contribute to filling some of the gaps that the UK independent exhibition sector is experiencing, while reinforcing a model that we have been building on for years in the forms of exclusive runs,” said Raffin. “This new branding aims to create consistency and also draw away from the idea of exclusivity – while the runs will de facto be exclusive, we do hope that other exhibitors will be convinced to show those films too on the back of their successful run at the ICA.”
The first screening is of Wang’s Man In Black on October 27, followed by a Q&A with the director. The ICA will continue to distribute independent arthouse titles across the UK and Ireland, as well as exhibiting them at its central London cinema.
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