[Commlist] CfP: HoMER2026 - Cinema Communities and Community Cinemas

*_Call for Papers_*
*_
_*
*HoMER 2026: Cinema Communities and Community Cinemas*
*University of Exeter, UK | 8–10 July 2026*
*Pre-conference workshops: 7 July 2026*
*
*
In 2026, the HoMER (History of Moviegoing, Exhibition and Reception) 
Network will convene its annual conference at the University of Exeter, 
UK, from 8–10 July, with a pre-conference workshop day on 7 July.

This year marks 100 years since the founding of the first film society 
in Britain, a movement that has since flourished—growing to encompass 
thousands of groups over the decades, with more than 1,600 active 
community cinemas and film societies today. To celebrate this centenary, 
HoMER 2026 will be hosted in collaboration with Cinema For All (formerly 
the British Federation of Film Societies), which was founded in 1946 to 
support, represent and develop the volunteer-led film exhibition sector.

Cinema For All will be holding its annual gathering of community cinemas 
and film societies at the University of Exeter alongside HoMER 2026, 
enabling us to create a rich programme of shared panels, workshops, 
screenings, and events—bringing the practice of community cinema 
directly into dialogue with contemporary research on film exhibition, 
distribution, and reception.

*Conference Theme:*
*Cinema Communities and Community Cinemas*

In recognition of this unique partnership, the 2026 conference invites 
participants to explore cinema communities in the broadest possible 
sense. While we will mark the remarkable legacy and continuing vitality 
of community cinema, we also invite contributions that address other 
forms and histories of cinema community—past and present, local and global.

*Possible areas of exploration include, but are not limited to:*

• Histories and practices of film societies, community cinemas, and 
independent exhibition
• Networks of exhibitors, distributors, and programmers working 
collaboratively
• Audiences as communities—shared viewing practices, fandoms, rituals, 
and memories
• Local, regional, or transnational cinema networks, and their role in 
cultural exchange
• Digital or diasporic communities of film viewers and makers
• The material and social infrastructures that sustain cinema communities
• Collaborative research methods and community-based scholarship in film 
exhibition studies
• Artistic, archival, and practice-based engagements with community cinema

We encourage participants to interpret the theme imaginatively, and to 
bring diverse methodological, theoretical, and creative approaches to 
bear on the topic.

*Submissions:*
*
*
_We welcome proposals for:_
• Individual papers, presentations, or workshops (20 minutes)
• Curated panels of 3–4 speakers
• Workshops (academic or practical)
• Artistic or practice-based presentations, performances, or installations

_Please submit:_
• Individual paper/presentation/workshop abstracts of up to 300 words.
• Curated panel proposals of up to 750 words (including short abstracts 
for each paper).

Submissions should be made via this form:

*/https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfELg4O9iRYmg9ZAY5zYf4ZqRurhk30ufqduWDvDeFJvYpHRw/viewform 
<https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfELg4O9iRYmg9ZAY5zYf4ZqRurhk30ufqduWDvDeFJvYpHRw/viewform>/*

*_Deadline for submissions: 19 January 2026_*
*
*
For any questions or further information, please contact:
Dr Matthew Rule-Jones — (m.w.jones /at/ exeter.ac.uk) 
<mailto:(m.w.jones /at/ exeter.ac.uk)>

We look forward to welcoming you to Exeter for a unique meeting of 
scholars, practitioners, and community cinema organisers—celebrating a 
century of film societies and the many communities that have sustained 
cinema across the world.


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