[Commlist] CFP: Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse film culture

CALL FOR PAPERS

A two-day virtual conference on the diversity of film audience 
experience in the UK - 2nd & 3rd March 2021.

_Deadline for abstracts: 5th January 2021_

We are delighted to invite contributions for the two-day conference 
‘Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse 
film culture’ that will take place in March 2021.

Full details: https://www.beyondthemultiplex.net/news-events/

‘Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse 
film culture’ marks the final event for the AHRC-funded project ‘Beyond 
the Multiplex: Audiences for Specialised film in English Regions’.

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CFP

We are delighted to invite contributions for the two-day conference 
‘Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse 
film culture’ that will take place in March 2021.

With increasing digital distribution, changing audience behaviour and 
the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on independent film exhibition there 
are many ongoing challenges to increasing the diversity of film 
available to all audiences regardless of their background or where they 
live. The conference takes place at a key moment for film exhibition, 
raising questions about how we might think differently about audiences 
and their relationship with film, and how these insights can support 
audience development. By bringing academic research and industry 
expertise the conference will provide a platform to discuss insights on 
changing patterns of film consumption and offer opportunities to share 
new thinking.

‘Audiences beyond the multiplex: understanding the value of a diverse 
film culture’ marks the final event for the AHRC-funded project ‘Beyond 
the Multiplex: Audience for Specialised film in English Regions’. 
Drawing on industry definitions, ‘specialised films’ are understood as 
films outside the mainstream, including small-scale UK films, foreign 
language, documentary, archive and films with unconventional narratives, 
themes or cinematic techniques. Through the research the project has 
shown the dynamic and changing relationship people have with film over 
their life course, the final conference will provide an opportunity to 
discuss these findings and the future diversity of independent film 
exhibition in English regions with academics and industry professionals.

While provision of mainstream film is good across England, provision of 
specialised / non-mainstream film is low across regions outside London, 
limiting the opportunity for people to experience a diverse film culture 
in many places. Between 2017 and 2020, the ‘Beyond the Multiplex’ 
research project has investigated how audiences engage with film in four 
English regions (North East, North West, South West, and Yorkshire and 
the Humber) to understand how to enable a wider range of audiences to 
participate in a more diverse film culture that embraces the wealth of 
films beyond the mainstream.

The ‘Beyond the Multiplex’ research project has conducted extensive 
research with audiences using innovative methods to understand how 
audiences form and the personal film journeys we take as our film 
watching habits and experiences change over the course of our lives. The 
project has developed new insights into the use of film venues, 
platforms, and media to participate in film culture. It has focussed on 
articulating the different experiences and meanings of film watching for 
different audiences in a variety of contexts. The project has also 
placed a strong emphasis on engaging with those involved in developing 
audiences for film to ensure the research findings benefit those working 
to grow audiences for specialised film.

The conference will present the project’s findings and policy 
recommendations for film audience development and bring together a range 
of academics and film industry experts to discuss the future of film 
audiences and the value of a diverse film culture.

Conference Keynotes:

• Professor Bridgette Wessels, University of Glasgow and Beyond the 
Multiplex Principal Investigator.
• Mark Cosgrove, Cinema Curator, Watershed, Bristol.
• Professor Daniela Treveri Gennari, Oxford Brookes University.
• Professor Martin Barker, Emeritus Professor, Aberystwyth University.

There are two open strands to the conference:

Academic Strand:
Research perspectives on the diversity of film exhibition and audiences 
today, this might include (but is not limited to) the following areas:

    Research on contemporary film audience experiences
    Regional or place based studies of film audiences
    Audience comprehension, interpretation, and meaning-making
    Changing film viewing habits and tastes over the life course
    Socio-cultural factors that shape film taste
    New perspectives on film distribution, both theatrical and online
    The levels of diversity of film exhibition across different geographies
    Film viewing across different media, screens and platforms
    Film audience development in theory and practice
    Innovative methodological approaches to film audience research

Industry strand:
Industry perspectives, provocations, case studies and think-pieces on 
the future of film exhibition in the UK, this might include (but is not 
limited to) the following areas:

    Using film industry research data
    Film programming and curating in practice
    Film distribution, licensing, rights, and sales
    Marketing and audience development
    Funding and film audience policy in the UK

Timeline
Deadline for abstracts: 5th January 2021
Accepted papers notified: 15th January 2021

Format and submission
Please send a 300 word abstract to (peter.merrington /at/ glasgow.ac.uk) by 5th 
January 2021.

Publication
All contributors will be invited to submit their paper for an open 
source online publication.

Contact us
For any queries or further information, please contact:

Dr Peter Merrington – (peter.merrington /at/ glasgow.ac.uk)
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