This Way Up 2022

Dundee contemporary arts/Online, 30 Nov - 1 dec

2022’s conference acknowledged the challenges of our sector as we grieved the loss of CMI and other cinemas which have ceased trading, high operational costs facing venues and audiences struggling with the cost-of-living and energy crises. It felt more vital than ever that we come together, in support of one another, to embrace our challenges as a community and build strategies for our future.

The conference programme embraced this task, whilst making space to celebrate the pure joy of cinema, and the cultural value of the UK’s rich independent cinema sector. While it didn’t shy away from big issues, it also embraced exciting ideas and opportunities for growth.

Our four strands - The Joy of Film, The Business of Culture, Fresh Thinking and Community Building - acted as an umbrella for finger-on-the-pulse sessions to help us create a path forward.

So, with our eyes to the future, we met and collaborated in person at Dundee Contemporary Arts, and online. Our second hybrid event represented the shifting landscape of our technology, a key theme for this year’s conference. We asked how we can create a cinema of the future as moving image formats evolve; heard from those breaking barriers in their communities; marvelled at game-changing audience research technologies, and much more.