Screen Awards 2016

20 OCTOBER 2016

THE BREWERY, LONDON

WINNERS

& FINALISTS @Screendaily #screenawards

screenawards.co.uk

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Tom Howard

AWARDS 2016 UK office MBI, Zetland House 5-25 Scrutton Street, London EC2A 4HJ Tel: +44 (0) 20 8102 0900 US office 8581 Santa Monica Blvd, #707, West Hollywood, CA 90069 E-mail: firstname.lastname@screendaily.com (unless stated) Editorial Editor Matt Mueller +44 (0) 20 8102 0868 Awards supplement writer Ian Sandwell US editor Jeremy Kay +1 310 922 5908 jeremykay67@gmail.com Reviews editor and chief film critic Fionnuala Halligan +44 7798 571 270 finn.halligan@screendaily.com Asia editor Liz Shackleton, lizshackleton@gmail.com Group head of production and art Mark Mowbray +44 (0) 20 8102 0867 Group art director, MBI Peter Gingell +44 (0) 20 8102 0842 peter.gingell@mb-insight.com Head of news and chief reporter Andreas Wiseman +44 (0) 20 8102 0914 Reporter and web assistant Tom Grater +44 (0) 20 8102 0841 Contributing editors Sarah Cooper, Charles Gant, John Hazelton, Wendy Mitchell, Louise Tutt Advertising and publishing Publishing director Nadia Romdhani +44 (0) 20 8102 0881 Senior sales manager Scott Benfold +44 (0) 20 8102 0813 UK, France, South Africa Pierre-Louis Manes +44 (0) 20 8102 0862 UK, Spain, Middle East, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand Scott Benfold +44 (0) 20 8102 0813 Germany, Scandinavia, Benelux, Eastern Europe Gunter Zerbich +44 (0) 20 8102 0917 Italy, Asia, India Ingrid Hammond +39 05 7829 8768 ingridhammond@mac.com VP business development, North America Nigel Daly +1 323 654 2301 / 213 447 5120 nigeldalymail@gmail.com Sales and business development executive, North America Nikki Tilmouth +1 323 868 7633 nikki.screeninternational@gmail.com Production manager Jonathon Cooke +44 (0) 20 8102 0825 jonathon.cooke@mb-insight.com Head of events, MBI Dee Adeosun +44 (0) 20 8102 0805 dee.adeosun@mb-insight.com Managing director (publishing and events) Alison Pitchford +44 (0) 20 8102 0912 alison.pitchford@mb-insight.com Subscription customer services +44 (0) 330 333 9414 help@subscribe.screendaily.com Chief executive officer, MBI Conor Dignam +44 (0) 20 8102 0910 conor.dignam@mb-insight.com Screen International is part of Media Business Insight Ltd (MBI), also publisher of Broadcast and shots

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A TRIBUTE TO EXCELLENCE

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creen International is proud to present its seventh annual Screen Awards, which recognise excellence in film distribution, exhibition, marketing, publicity and brand partnerships in the UK market. We are delighted to have received so many entries from the different sectors. We are also proud these awards don’t simply reflect great box-office results, but pay tribute to excellence across the board when it comes to making sure a film not only reaches its target audience but exceeds expectations.

This is an industry made up of a wide range of companies, from Hollywood studios to entrepreneurial one-man bands, and we want to recognise the many facets that help to unite audiences with films. Connecting a Hollywood tentpole such as Star Wars: The Force Awakens or Deadpool with the ticket-buying public may be a far different enterprise from doing the same with independent releases such as The Lobster, Love & Friendship or Son Of Saul, but all are fuelled by the passionate intelligence and creativity of the teams that make it happen.

Once again, our awards enjoyed the benefit of a superb panel of industry judges. They presided in two groups over separate days at Covent Garden Hotel in September, and we thank them for lending their time, expertise, insight and passion. It’s never easy picking a winner but the conversations were knowledgeable, perceptive and lively, and the judges felt every nominee should be commended for their outstanding entries.

Finally, it just remains to thank you, the industry, for your continued support of these awards. We love the chance to celebrate your phenomenal work and we couldn’t do it without you.

Matt Mueller, editor

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Awards judges 3D film campaign of the year Poster design of the year Event cinema campaign of the year Online campaign of the year Trailer of the year Brand partnership of the year Premiere of the year, 99 sites or less Premiere of the year, 100 sites or more Cinema marketing campaign of the year Judging day Creative agency of the year, audiovisual Creative agency of the year, print PR team of the year, agency PR team of the year, in-house Cinema of the year, 24 screens or less Cinema of the year, 25 screens or more Rising star Specialist film campaign of the year Theatrical campaign of the year, 99 sites or less Theatrical campaign of the year, 100 sites or more Marketing team of the year Exhibition achievement award Distributor of the year October 2016 Screen International 1

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JUDGES PANEL

MEET THE JUDGES

Tom Avison

Claire Beswick

Dave Bishop

Head of studios, 3 Mills Studios

Head of programming, Curzon Cinemas

Head of worldwide acquisitions, Protagonist Pictures

Sue Bruce-Smith

Stephen Burdge

Will Clarke

Melissa Cogavin

James Collington

Head of distribution and brand strategy, Film4

Director, Empire Design

Co-CEO, Altitude Film Entertainment

Managing director, Event Cinema Association

Managing director, Savoy Cinemas

Hilary Davis

Matthew Eyre

Emma McCorkell

Joe Oppenheimer

Eduardo Panizzo

Co-managing director, Bankside Films

Chief operating officer, Cineworld

Publicity consultant

Commissioning executive, BBC Films

Director and managing partner, Coffee & Cigarettes

Adam Rubins

Deborah Sheppard

Stephen Woolley

CEO, Way To Blue

Marketing and VoD consultant, iheartcinema

Producer, Number 9 Films

www.screendaily.com

October 2016 Screen International 3

Is proud to sponsor the 3D Film Campaign of the Year Award

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3D FILM CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

Sponsored by

NOMINEES

Everest Ignition Creative for Universal

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Disney

The Jungle Book Disney

The Martian 20th Century Fox

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inning the award for the fifth year in a row, 20th Century Fox’s 3D campaign for The Martian was hailed by our judges as “highly visible and effectively targeted” as the distributor focused on communicating the immersive 3D aspect of Ridley Scott’s sci-fi adaptation, utilising Cineworld, Vue, Showcase and Empire both in cinema foyers and online.

The campaign saw front-ofhouse takeovers with stand-out point-of-sale and bespoke installs that included the 3D message. In addition, exclusive activity ran across three key exhibitors’ websites and social-media pages that pushed seeing the film in the format. RealD also released a featurette with Scott that demonstrated the film’s high-quality 3D work.

Fox trailered the film on every 3D release in the market ahead of

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‘The brilliantly executed campaign made me want to experience the film in 3D’

The Martian’s opening, including titles such as Ant-Man and Jurassic World, and ran a female-targeted screening programme with media brands Grazia, Heat and Female First, resulting in a nearperfect 99% saying they would recommend the film. The campaign also saw a full tunnel wrap at London’s Waterloo Station, immersing commuters in the environment of the film.

“The brilliantly executed and extensive campaign made me want to experience the film in 3D,” praised one judge.

Combined with one of Fox’s biggest marketing pushes, with coverage across paid media, PR, trade marketing and promotions, the campaign contributed to The Martian grossing an excellent £23.7m, marking Scott’s second-highestgrossing film of all time at the UK s box office. ■ October 2016 Screen International 5

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POSTER DESIGN OF THE YEAR

NOMINEES

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie 20th Century Fox

Anomalisa Curzon Artificial Eye and TEA Creative

Bolshoi Babylon Wonderland Distribution and Altitude Film Distribution

Embrace Of The Serpent Peccadillo Pictures

Hail, Caesar!

The Posterhouse

London Has Fallen TEA

The Neon Demon AllCity

Nina Forever

The Lobster

Coffee & Cigarettes

Rams

Picturehouse Entertainment, Element Pictures Distribution, Protagonist Pictures and Vasilis Marmatakis

Soda Pictures

Suffragette Pathé UK and Empire Design

Tangerine Metrodome Distribution

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ur judges had one word for the poster for Yorgos Lanthimos’s Englishlanguage debut The Lobster: extraordinary. Aimed at using one visual campaign across the film’s marketing lifecycle, Picturehouse Entertainment, Element Pictures Distribution and sales agent Protagonist Pictures worked with the director and his preferred designer, Vasilis Marmatakis, on the “bold and striking” poster.

Marmatakis produced five designs from three core concepts, two of which explored the idea of the main protagonists (played by Colin Farrell and Rachel Weisz) being separated across two posters, and the black-and-white ‘embrace’ concept was seen as the strongest.

“I tried to visually imply incompleteness, the feeling of void and the resulting agony,” explained the designer. For the quad, a divide

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‘The poster conveyed the unique, beautiful nature of the film very effectively’

was created down the middle with the list of core cast and a single standout press quote.

Our judges agreed the final poster perfectly conveyed the “unique, beautiful nature of the film very effectively”.

“It is completely honest to what the film is and doesn’t misrepresent it, as well as being something that seems incredibly intriguing and attractive,” one judge said, adding that it made “innovative use of the white space”.

The designs were profiled in Creative Review and other core outlets, as well as spanning the London Underground campaign for the film and selected press adverts. Crucially, it made our judges “want to see the film”. UK audiences followed suit with a £220,000 opening weekend from only 76 sites, The Lobster going on s to take £1.5m at the box office. ■ October 2016 Screen International 7

EVENT CINEMA CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

NOMINEES

The Battle Of Britain At 75 TBI Media and Snappin’ Turtle

Dragon Ball Z: Resurrection ‘F’ Manga Entertainment and Substance Global

The Importance Of Being Earnest More2Screen

Vue and NT Live: Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch Vue Entertainment

Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter’s Tale Picturehouse Entertainment

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proper theatrical campaign for a one-night-only event that established a brand in a congested marketplace,” enthused one judge of Branagh Theatre Live: The Winter’s Tale, a partnership between Picturehouse Entertainment, Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company and producer Fiery Angel. The box-office results were equally impressive, with an opening night of £1.15m and a final tally of £2.1m in the UK. The Winter’s Tale was the first of three plays selected from Kenneth Branagh’s Plays At The Garrick season, with the aim of creating a “necessary impact” to make the season a success. Several months before the broadcast, a co-ordinated on-sale launch was created, using a heavily embargoed B2B cinema sales campaign and a standalone website for buying tickets.

A key element was Tomboy www.screendaily.com

‘There’s a lot of Shakespeare in the market and it’s very difficult to establish yourself. They managed to do that’

Films’ season trailer, praised by our judges as crucial to the broadcast’s “striking success”. As the broadcast neared, the campaign also saw a bespoke e-mail approach from each key exhibitor to reach those who had previously booked tickets to an event cinema broadcast. Working with The Corner Shop PR, significant placements were secured, with Branagh appearing on the BBC’s The Graham Norton Show and an interview with the play’s star Judi Dench in Time Out. Online, promotions through Facebook saw 37,900 clicks from UK consumers to the ticketbooking website and 76,400 views of the trailer.

“There’s a lot of Shakespeare in the market already and it’s very difficult to establish yourself,” summed up one judge. “They managed to do that, and showcase that it s wasn’t a one-off event.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 9

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ONLINE CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

NOMINEES

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie 20th Century Fox

Creed Way To Blue

Deadpool 20th Century Fox, Substance Global and Feref

Ghostbusters Way To Blue

Love & Friendship Curzon Artificial Eye, Way To Blue and Powster

Rams Soda Pictures

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Disney

Suffragette Pathé UK, Feref and Influence Digital

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imed at communicating the relevance of the film to a younger audience, Suffragette’s online campaign worked to highlight the ongoing fight for women’s equality and, as a result, was “more overtly political and confrontational”. This focus was hailed by our judges as “very inventive in bringing the subject of the film right up to date”.

Pathé worked with Feref and Influence Digital on the campaign, which saw them interact with leading fourth-wave feminism groups such as Pussy Riot and Everyday Sexism and enlist the support of influential women ambassadors across all sectors, including journalist and author Caitlin Moran.

Online initiatives included an #InspiringWomen user-generated content gallery and a competition with the National Union of Students to win a university screening. www.screendaily.com

‘The campaign seemed to penetrate a very long way with a very strong message’

“It was a clever, innovative and incredibly impressive campaign,” said one judge. Online platforms were primarily designed to educate and construct a wider story around the film, while social platforms were used to “build and focus a groundswell of online sentiment” from the likes of musician Annie Lennox and Labour MP Stella Creasy. The European premiere at the BFI London Film Festival was live-streamed on YouTube.

Suffragette’s Facebook page had more than 50,000 followers by the time of release, 60% aged 13-34.

The film enjoyed a £2.9m debut at the box office, going on to take £10.1m. “The online campaign seemed to penetrate a very long way with a very strong message,” concluded one judge. “It was constantly coming at me from different angles, but not in a way s that aggravated me.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 11

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TRAILER OF THE YEAR

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Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie 20th Century Fox

Barry Lyndon Ignition Creative and BFI

Bolshoi Babylon The Picture Production Company and Altitude Films

Everest Ignition Creative and Universal

Eye In The Sky Ignition Creative and Entertainment One

The Lobster Picturehouse Entertainment, Element Pictures Distribution, Protagonist Pictures and Empire Design

Notes On Blindness

Son Of Saul

Archer’s Mark and Curzon Artificial Eye

Curzon Artificial Eye and Intermission Film

Rams Coffee & Cigarettes

Suffragette Pathé UK and Empire Design

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n extremely powerful trailer that sells the film in a straightforward way,” noted one judge of Curzon Artificial Eye and Intermission Film’s trailer for the award-winning Son Of Saul. Aimed at giving audiences “a taste of its unique immersive experience” while being sensitive to the film’s subject matter, the trailer avoids using music to manipulate emotion, focusing instead on bursts of “harsh, unapologetic sounds”.

Our judges hailed the trailer’s “ability to convey a very difficult subject in a compelling and inspiring way”. It was launched in partnership with The Guardian on Holocaust Memorial Day (January 27), generating almost 1,000 shares. Since then, it has been nominated for best foreign drama at the Golden Trailer Awards, and received 66,000 views from one www.screendaily.com

‘It conveys a very difficult subject in a compelling and inspiring way’

post on Facebook and 20,000 on YouTube.

Curzon Artificial Eye and Intermission Film were wary of showing “too many explicit scenes” out of context, and wanted to ensure the film could be widely trailered, which led to a focus on tone and atmosphere. This was achieved through minimal dialogue, instead generating emotion through visual storytelling, with each shot revealing “something new to the audience”. The trailer ends in silence with a focus on Saul’s face.

Our judges argued the “compellingly distilled” trailer played a key role in the film’s run, which saw Son Of Saul gross £178,000 on its opening weekend before going on to take more than £500,000 in the UK. One judge concluded: “It did all the right things and makes me s want to see the film.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 13

Sponsored by

BRAND PARTNERSHIP OF THE YEAR

NOMINEES

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and Cadbury’s Amaze Bites Lime Communications

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie and Diet Coke 20th Century Fox

E4 Slackers Club elevenfiftyfive, Picturehouse Cinemas and E4

Sony Pictures and Peperami Brand & Deliver

X-Men: Apocalypse and Superfast Sky Fibre 20th Century Fox

The Secret Life Of Pets and Petplan Brand Culture

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t was a perfect fit,” enthused one judge of Brand Culture’s partnership between Universal Pictures’ The Secret Life Of Pets and Petplan, a leading pet insurer. “You can clearly see where both sides were winners.”

Inspired by Petplan’s successful 2015 ‘My Job/Your Job’ campaign, the partnership recreated the concept of showing real-life pet behaviour and personifying it with human job titles, only this time with footage from the film’s trailer.

A co-branded pet blanket was also created as a prize those taking out a new policy could win.

Noting the “tricky sell” of insurance, our judges praised the campaign for being the “most creative, captivating and effective”, with strong online and offline support.

Awareness was raised through digital newsletters, competitions hosted on Petplan’s social media www.screendaily.com

‘It seemed to have extensive and deep engagement with the target audience’

channels, and point-of-sale branding assets delivered to 4,000 vet practices and 1,200 animal charities. There was also a Universal adbreak takeover of Channel 4’s Gogglesprogs, alongside other partners, while pet and mummy bloggers were invited to write about what their pets were doing while their owners were not at home, using monitoring cameras provided by Petplan.

The “well-executed” campaign led to 9% more sales and 17% more revenue year-on-year in June for Petplan. Having debuted top of the box office, The Secret Life Of Pets went on to become the year’s highest-grossing original animation, taking more than £34m to date. “It seemed to have extensive and deep engagement with the target audience,” summed up one judge.

“They were ambitious in trying to s get everything possible out of it.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 15

PREMIERE OF THE YEAR 99 SITES OR LESS

NOMINEES

I Believe In Miracles National Amusements, Universal Pictures UK, Organic, Tin Hat Marketing

Son Of Saul Curzon Artificial Eye

Sunset Song Metrodome

Dartmoor Killing Dartmoor Killing Ltd in association with Barn Cinema Dartington

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raised as a “wonderfully conceived” event, Dartmoor Killing’s premiere marked the first time a film had been screened to the public outdoors on Dartmoor. The event took place over three nights, in association with Barn Cinema Dartington, which used a 40ft screen with 2K digital projection.

Aiming to attract up to 250 people each night, all seated, the event in fact sold out over all three nights, leading to additional seating being put in place and 1,000 people attending. “It was a highly original and clever premiere that successfully landed the film,” said one judge.

Promotion was carried out by Blue Frog Media through a Twitter campaign, because the budget would not stretch to print or radio advertising.

The licensed event featured 16 Screen International October 2016

‘A unique idea in a pocket of the UK that rarely sees premieres, which delivered great coverage’

gourmet barbecue food from The Kitchen Table, specialist beer and wine from New Lion Brewery and live music performances from UK singer-songwriter Jo Harman and composer Sarah Class. Each night was attended by different members of the cast and crew, which led to press coverage on both BBC and ITN, as well as local print and radio coverage.

One judge highlighted the “brave” strategy and the event’s ability to “sell Dartmoor, literally, on a small budget”.

Another added it was a “unique idea in a pocket of the UK that rarely sees premieres, which delivered great coverage”.

The event generated word-ofmouth publicity for the theatrical release, with the result that Dartmoor Killing grossed almost £30,000 in its south west-focused s limited run. ■ www.screendaily.com

Getty

100 SITES OR MORE PREMIERE OF THE YEAR

NOMINEES

Captain America: Civil War Disney

Ed Sheeran: Jumpers For Goalposts Way To Blue

Kung Fu Panda 3 20th Century Fox

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Disney

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie 20th Century Fox

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ith an objective to “capture the fabulous and outrageous world of Ab Fab”, 20th Century Fox’s premiere of Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie saw it take over Leicester Square with a gold carpet, plus mirrored pink-and-purple screens broadcasting slogans such as, ‘You look fabulous, darling!’. Fox Searchlight worked with Premier PR and Freuds on the premiere.

It was a resounding success, according to our judges, who described it as an “amazing spectacle that fitted the film perfectly and hit its target audience right between the eyes”.

The premiere was attended by many of the film’s cast and cameos, including Joanna Lumley, Jennifer Saunders, Kate Moss and Kylie Minogue, leading to high-profile live interviews with the likes of Sky News and BBC London, as well as

www.screendaily.com

‘An amazing spectacle that hit its target audience right between the eyes’

coverage the following day on Good Morning Britain and Lorraine.

Print coverage included front pages of The Sun, The Times and The Daily Telegraph among others, along with inside pieces in The Guardian, Daily Mirror and more.

The premiere was also streamed live on YouTube and saw guests given branded Diet Cokes, Cadbury’s Amaze Bites and glasses of Bollinger. London department store Liberty was transformed for an Absolutely Fabulous after-party.

“It was completely on message, which resulted in a mass of press and awareness,” praised one judge, with another saying it “embraced the humour of Ab Fab”.

The film took £4.1m on its opening weekend from 982 screens, going on to amass a very fabulous £16m at the UK box office. One judge concluded: s “What was not to like?” ■ October 2016 Screen International 17

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CINEMA MARKETING CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR

Capital FM in the East Midlands used the new Showcase chair during breakfast show Dino & Pete Exposed, featuring The Vamps

NOMINEES

Picturehouse at National Media Museum Vue Cambridge, The Recliner, Vue Entertainment

Showcase Cinema de Lux

A

imed at raising awareness of three rebranded and refurbished Showcase cinemas, the company carried out a fourmonth cross-media campaign, pinpointing families as the major target market. Hailed for the “impact on turnover and market share”, our judges felt the campaign was “demonstrably a total success”.

Three cinemas in Nottingham, Leeds and Reading were converted to Showcase Cinema de Lux, with every seat replaced with a fully customisable, electronic reclining seat, at no extra cost to the customer.

This was a focal point of the campaign, with its tagline: “We’ve upgraded everything but the price.”

As well as targeted online display advertising and transport advertising, the new seats were placed in Nottingham’s Intu shopping centre, with shoppers invited to try them while taking a movie quiz. In addition, the seats were given to Gem www.screendaily.com

‘They have changed the way old multiplexes can be brought up to and above standards’

106 radio presenters in Nottingham, which used them during broadcasts, while Capital FM in the East Midlands broadcast breakfast show Dino & Pete Exposed live from a theatre, with one of the chairs placed on stage for a listener to win “the best seat in the house” for the duration of the show. One judge said it “conveyed a passion for cinema and the cinema experience”.

All three venues have seen a significant growth in business, with Leeds increasing its box office by 47% and local market share by 6.5%, while Reading and Nottingham have grown box office by 45% and 24%, respectively. Each site has risen up the UK-wide cinema ranking, with Leeds now 18th.

“They have taken really old cinemas and completely renovated them,” summed up one judge.

“They have changed the way old multiplexes can be brought up to s and above standards.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 19

The judges’ call The panel of esteemed Screen Awards judges from across the industry gathered to mull over nominated talent across 21 categories

Where When

Covent Garden Hotel, London September 2 and 20, 2016

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Sue Bruce-Smith Film4

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Judging group

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Melissa Cogavin Event Cinema Association and Hilary Davis Bankside Films

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Claire Beswick Curzon Cinemas

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James Collington Savoy Cinemas

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Joe Oppenheimer BBC Films

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Matt Mueller Screen International

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Dave Bishop Protagonist Pictures and Eduardo Panizzo Coffee & Cigarettes

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Tom Avison 3 Mills Studios

10 Adam Rubins Way To Blue 11 Matthew Eyre Cineworld 12 Emma McCorkell Publicity consultant 13 Will Clarke Altitude Film Entertainment 14 Deborah Sheppard iheartcinema 15 Stephen Burdge Empire Design 16 Stephen Woolley Number 9 Films

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Tom Howard

MEET THE TEAM THE JUDGES PANEL

CREATIVE AGENCY OF THE YEAR AUDIOVISUAL

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Coffee & Cigarettes In its third year, Coffee & Cigarettes worked on a greater number of theatrical releases, including Rams and The Queen Of Ireland, impressing our judges for crafting an “emotional reaction”.

Icelandic hit Rams saw the company win its first major trailer prize at the GTA Awards, and led to it working again with distributor Soda Pictures on Up For Love. “The agency has a clear sense of what the film is and is true to films individually, creating very fresh trailers,” enthused one judge.

This year also saw the company launch its virtual reality production arm, securing a distribution deal with Samsung VR.

NOMINEES

Ignition Creative London

Intermission Film

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inning for the third year in a row, Intermission Film was praised by our judges for having a “clear sense of identity in all of its material and presenting work in innovative new ways”.

This year saw the agency receive 10 Golden Trailer nominations, winning two for its Amy trailer and High-Rise teaser, and expand its client base to include 20th Century Fox, Scott Free and eOne, among others.

One judge hailed the agency for delivering “consistently great campaigns that are cinematic in execution”, with the past year seeing it work on the likes of Netflix’s Beasts Of No Nation, WestEnd Films’ BFI London Film Festival title Dancer and Icon Film Distribution pictures including The Ones Below and War On Everyone. After the success of its Amy campaign, it 22 Screen International October 2016

‘It has a clear vision to be the most creative trailer agency.

It delivers every year’

Joint, Vue Entertainment Spinnaker London

also worked again with Asif Kapadia on a promo for his upcoming archive documentary Maradona.

The past 12 months have also seen the agency handle the entire theatrical campaigns for Brotherhood, The Neon Demon, Miles Ahead and Green Room. Highlighting its work on The Neon Demon, one judge explained: “It’s such rich material to work with, but still very challenging, especially when there is expectation.”

As well as increasing its staff numbers and now having an even gender split, Intermission Film expanded its premises to both “foster a community of other likeminded film companies” and include additional offline, online and 5.1 audio suites.

“It has a clear vision to be the most creative trailer agency and its work is different,” concluded one s judge. “It delivers every year.” ■ www.screendaily.com

PRINT CREATIVE AGENCY OF THE YEAR

NOMINEES

Coffee & Cigarettes The Creative Partnership Market Reactive The Posterhouse Zero Degrees West

AllCity

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orking on everything from awards contenders such as Spotlight to independent films such as Brotherhood, AllCity stood out for our judges because of its “very strong creative and artistic leaning”. Its work over the past 12 months has included the likes of A Bigger Splash, Everybody Wants Some!!, Tale Of Tales, Triple 9 and War On Everyone.

It was the agency’s work on The Neon Demon that was singled out by one judge for its “amazing designs and artwork”. Having worked on Only God Forgives, AllCity continued to work with Nicolas Winding Refn from the first teaser poster for The Neon Demon through to forming the UK theatrical campaign, building on the branding it had created at the earliest stages.

AllCity has also worked on the Cannes teaser art for Oasis

www.screendaily.com

‘The agency is clear on what it wants to create, which are often works of art’

documentary Supersonic, key art for Jim Jarmusch’s Stooges documentary Gimme Danger and international sales art for the likes of The Outsider starring Jared Leto, and JD Salinger biopic Rebel In The Rye, among others.

Along with evolving its branding of UK Film — the umbrella brand for the UK film industry — AllCity created the designs for Pathé’s Berlin and Cannes stands and offices.

As part of its desire to “enhance the way a project can be presented”, it delivered a motion poster for Peter Weir’s The Keep that ended with a static image of the sales poster.

“The agency pushes the boundaries of intelligent communications and doesn’t patronise,” enthused one judge. “It is very clear on its vision and what it wants to create, s which are often works of art.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 23

PR TEAM OF THE YEAR AGENCY

NOMINEES

DDA Hope & Glory PR Organic Premier Substance Global

(Above) commuters climb the stairs at Chancery Lane Underground station to the strains of the Rocky theme music in support of Creed; (right) Kevin Hart, Ice Cube and Stormzy in a rap battle for Ride Along 2

Way To Blue

O

ver the past 12 months, Way To Blue has worked towards “changing the traditional publicity landscape”, and our judges took notice, saying: “The agency has ambitions to be innovative and to explore new ways of promoting releases.”

Highlights have included hiring a live band to play the Rocky theme tune when commuters climbed the stairs at Chancery Lane Underground station to promote the release of Creed, with this piece of themed content generating more than 500,000 views. The company and partners also created digitalmedia firsts, such as a Facebook Live Q&A with Glamour, and set up a rap battle between Kevin Hart and Stormzy for Ride Along 2 to engage the core audience, which attracted more than 10 million views.

One judge highlighted that the 24 Screen International October 2016

‘They are doing pioneering work, making full use of online and social media’

agency is “treating each film individually with different approaches”. For Altitude’s Race, limited access to talent saw Way To Blue organise an athletics experience for journalists, leading to a feature in Metro and pre-written articles with placement on sites such as Sports Bible. The campaign also saw it work alongside SportsAid on a gala premiere that gained coverage on Sky Sports News.

Way To Blue’s ambition to deliver highly impactful campaigns has seen it work with influencers and aggregators such as The Lad Bible and Hello U, an element highly praised by our judges in helping a wide range of films “appeal to a younger, more cinemagoing audience”.

One enthused: “They are doing forward-thinking, pioneering work in a digital space, making full use of s online and social media.” ■ www.screendaily.com

IN-HOUSE PR TEAM OF THE YEAR

Deadpool with Manchester United’s Wayne Rooney

NOMINEES

Curzon Artificial Eye Disney Studios

20th Century Fox “

T

hey deliver time and time again on a variety of films,” said our judges in praise of 20th Century Fox, whose films have grossed £240m at the UK box office over the past 12 months, following an ambition to “keep the fans at the core of our campaigns”, as well as “broadening our audiences” for films such as Deadpool and The Peanuts Movie.

Fox has built on the success of last year’s fan screening for Paper Towns, with events such as a global fan screening for X-Men: Apocalypse at the BFI IMAX, which replaced the world premiere and resulted in the first-ever global live-stream of a film premiere event. And as part of expanding Deadpool’s audience, Fox set up an original partnership with Manchester United FC that included a video of Ryan Reynolds’ character playing football alongside the www.screendaily.com

‘The team consistently has amazing success with difficult movies’

club’s players, leading to almost 2 million views on YouTube.

The judges cited Fox’s success with The Revenant and Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, the latter seeing an event at Pride and an after-party held at department store Liberty. “For The Revenant it was an astonishing result, managing to position it to a different audience,” singled out one judge, adding that Fox “does independent films very well”.

Other highlights included director Roland Emmerich acting as guest editor of Empire’s website for Independence Day: Resurgence, and Good Morning Britain interviewing Matt Damon, set against NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, for the trailer launch of The Martian.

One judge said: “They have amazing success with difficult movies, consistently throughout s the year.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 25

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Marketing director 20th Century Fox

Producer Little House Productions

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24 SCREENS OR LESS CINEMA OF THE YEAR

HIGHLY COMMENDED

The Picture House Uckfield, East Sussex Located in a town with a population of only 15,000, this year has seen the icture ouse in c field undergo a £300,000 refurbishment of its entire building, including a rebuild of its three screens.

“They’ve done a huge amount of work and it’s paying off. They are innovative in what they do,” praised one judge.

Our judges also highlighted the cinema’s increased turnover, which in 2015 saw it hit 150,000 admissions or the first time ent cinema also accounts for 26% of ticket sales, contributing to it winnin the est ndependent inema in urope award last year

NOMINEES

Aldeburgh Cinema Suffolk

Genesis Cinema WHITECHAPEL, LONDON

Filmhouse Edinburgh

The Electric Cinema Birmingham

Electric Cinema Portobello London

W

ith a mantra to “provide a cultural and entertainment base for the indigenous east London populat i o n ”, G e n e s i s C i n e m a i n Whitechapel has seen a 40% increase in admissions this year to more than 250,000, and a 41% boost in box office to £1.5m.

Among the changes has been the introduction of low-income screenings, with the cinema working with Volunteer Anything to allow people on low incomes or volunteers free access to the cinema every Tuesday and Thursday. This passion for charity and local work was praised by the judges, who cited initiatives such as allowing charitable organisations to use the cinema at a reduced cost or at no charge for fundraisers.

The introduction of an online booking system has freed up staff

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‘They have showcased the most impressive and extensive effort across the board’

resources, which have been used to boost the cinema’s outreach and marketing, with the marketing team increasing from one to four full-time members plus one parttime employee.

As well as being a key partner sponsor of the East End Film Festival, in 2016 the cinema has hosted one-off events to mark the deaths of David Bowie and Prince.

This year also saw the launch of GENESISTERS, a night that explores feminist and LGBT ideas through art, performance, music and film.

“They have showcased the most impressive and extensive effort across the board,” highlighted one judge, and with three consecutive years of increased admission and turnover to build on, the Genesis Cinema is well on the way to its stated aim to be “the best cinema s in east London”. ■

HOME Manchester

Palace Cinema Malton

Phoenix Cinema East Finchley

Plaza Community Cinema Liverpool

Regal Cinema, Theatre and Restaurant Cornwall

Watershed Bristol

October 2016 Screen International 27

CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER AND FINALISTS WHO, LIKE THE VISTA GROUP OF BUSINESSES, SET THE NEW BAR FOR MOVIEGOERS.

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NOMINEES

Cineworld Sheffield

Crouch End Picturehouse London

Curzon Bloomsbury London

Curzon Soho London

East Dulwich Picturehouse London

Empire Leicester Square London

Everyman Esher Surrey

Picturehouse at National Media Museum Bradford

Picturehouse Central London

“

I

t has had a dramatic transformation from my least favourite site in London to my favourite,” outlined one judge of Picturehouse Central. The redesign of the old Cineworld Trocadero saw each of the venue’s seven screens completely refitted, including Dolby Atmos and 70mm capability in Screen 1, with the cinema’s architects Panter Hudspith winning the sports and leisure category at the BD Architect of the Year Awards.

Screen’s judges recognised the cinema had achieved its aim of creating a space to “encourage you to linger and make yourself at home” through the introduction of a ground-floor café, first-floor restaurant and members’ bar and roof terrace. “It’s doing so much more than just showing movies.

You want to spend time in there,” enthused one judge.

As well as hosting festivals such

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‘It’s a temple to cinema right in the heart of London’

Picturehouse Cinema City Norwich

Showcase Cinema de Lux Reading

as Sundance London and the BFI London Film Festival, Picturehouse Central has initiated weekly dog-friendly screenings, rebranded as Queer Central for Pride and launched an LGBTQ cinema strand in association with POUTFest.

Its first birthday on June 11 was marked with a £1 cinema ticket day, screening a mix of current releases, previews of upcoming films and the cinema’s first 70mm film screening. Nearly all the shows sold out, with more than 4,000 admissions across the day.

Our judges agreed the “extraordinary” transformation has led to an “exciting, innovative new version of cinema”, with one summing it up: “It’s a temple to cinema right in the heart of London, which allows different audiences to congregate in an amazing s space with film at its centre.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 29

Congratulations to all nominees

Creative Skillset is providing career development support for this year’s Rising Star. The award winner will receive one-to-one career advice, plus a bursary for a course and/or mentoring programme of their choice.

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NOMINEES

Kelly Alyse Way To Blue

Jesse Bingham Organic

Daniel Diaz We Are Colony

Meg Drewett Substance Global

Louise Gluckstein Way To Blue

Charlotte Jermyn The Creative Partnership

James King Curzon Artificial Eye

Grahame Reid Macrobert Arts Centre

Rebecca Thompson Social Screen

Mark Towers

Will Wood Multitude Media

Curzon Artificial Eye

H

aving started his career working in TV for Turner Broadcasting, where he became marketing & PR executive, Mark Towers joined Curzon Artificial Eye in October 2014 as home entertainment product manager, overseeing the creation of product artwork and marketing materials.

Praised by our judges as an “incredibly creative and talented designer who plays a pivotal role within Curzon”, Towers has worked on more than 80 titles for the company and regularly creates materials for the theatrical team, Curzon Cinemas and Curzon Home Cinema. He also edited the ‘Save Curzon Soho’ campaign video.

“Mark displays a high level of creativity and keen marketing instincts, producing consistently excellent work,” said Steve Lewis, head of home entertainment and digital, in his nomination for Towers. “Whether mainstream, world

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‘Mark is a creative genius and unsung hero of the marketing team’

cinema or classics, Mark has proved adaptable, devising distinctive and imaginative campaigns tailored to target audiences.”

For Nymphomaniac, Towers was challenged with maintaining continuity with the theatrical campaign while devising multiple DVD variants. He gained plaudits from director Lars von Trier, while his work on the Charlie Chaplin and Andrei Tarkovsky collections saw him make “familiar titles appear genuinely fresh” with his designs used for both the home entertainment and theatrical campaigns.

“He is a creative genius and unsung hero of the Curzon Artificial Eye marketing team,” enthused one judge. Towers’ work on Nymphomaniac led to sales outperforming the theatrical release and his campaign for Still Alice, including creative digital advertising, helped it become Curzon’s s biggest-selling DVD ever. ■ October 2016 Screen International 31

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Embrace Of The Serpent Peccadillo Pictures

N

oting this was a “tough movie”, our judges praised the “impressive numbers” Peccadillo Pictures achieved for Embrace Of The Serpent. Opening on 21 screens with more than £31,000, it managed to become the distributor’s most successful theatrical release to date, on more than £270,000. “A well-orchestrated and targeted campaign on a minimal budget,” summed up one judge.

With the objective of attracting a younger audience, the campaign’s 30-second online promo played out via advertising on Vice, Facebook and Instagram — timed to peak at the week of release — alongside a Google Search campaign that directed people to the distributor’s Powster ticketing website. The Facebook page for the film achieved the highest number of ‘likes’ Peccadillo has ever www.screendaily.com

‘This was a wellorchestrated and targeted campaign on a minimal budget’

had for a single film — more than 4,500.

Our judges highlighted the “excellent use of images” throughout the campaign, including the stark main poster centred around the character of Karamakate, with two versions showing him as both a young and old man. Traditional print advertising was utilised alongside more targeted advertising in Time Out and Metro, while Emfoundation handled publicity and Celluloid Circus helped Peccadillo reach a Latin audience.

As well as several print and online interviews with the film’s director Ciro Guerra, a BFI Southbank screening pre-release saw a Q&A streamed live on Facebook, with more than 700 views. “A fresh release that created a great result,” hailed one judge. “It’s a difficult film that managed to hold screens s in a competitive marketplace.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 33

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The Lobster Picturehouse Entertainment and Element Pictures Distribution

P

icturehouse Entertainment and Element Pictures Distribution wanted to make Yorgos Lanthimos’s Englishlanguage debut The Lobster an “arthouse blockbuster”, and our judges felt they achieved their aim.

“A wonderfully synergistic and humorous campaign that helped broaden the film’s audience,” hailed one judge, with another saying: “It hit its mark.”

Our judges highlighted the campaign’s poster (winner of this year’s Poster of the Year award) and trailer for successfully showcasing the “smart and cool” nature of the film. The trailer, created by Empire Design, focused on the film’s unique humour, actively avoiding elements from The Lobster’s darker second half, adding to the film being positioned as an “unconventional love story”.

The “wildly inventive” campaign

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‘An all-round amazing campaign with creative, original ideas’

used new digital initiatives alongside traditional materials, including a ‘What animal would you be?’ online quiz, created in collaboration with Catch Digital, which reached 50,000 people. Other elements saw special standees created with the faces and arms cut out, speed-dating events and branded napkins with a hand-written phone number that led to a message from ‘The Hotel’, giving people a chance to win BFI London Film Festival premiere tickets.

Appearances on the likes of The Graham Norton Show and press coverage of the film’s LFF screening also helped the film reach a broad audience. It all resulted in “an all-round amazing campaign with creative, original ideas” according to our judges, and saw the film open with £230,000 from 76 screens and go on to gross an s excellent £1.5m overall. ■ October 2016 Screen International 35

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THEATRICAL CAMPAIGN OF THE YEAR 100 SITES OR MORE

HIGHLY COMMENDED

Deadpool 20th Century Fox

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Disney

Our judges are convinced Fox achieved its goal of establishing a “completely fresh and unique” character with Deadpool, leading to a m o o fice result “He was everywhere,” noted one judge, with the “extensive, innovative” campaign having a comprehensive digital side, including partnering with the likes of Digital Spy and Empire on ‘12 Days of Deadpool’ in the run-up to hristmas Other elements saw Ryan Reynolds appear on The Graham Norton Show, among others, a ‘Touch Yourself Tonight’ cancer awareness campaign and an outdoor campaign that focused on the film s irre erent humour t was an excellent effort to appeal to a broad audience and have fun,” praised one jud e

NOMINEES

Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie 20th Century Fox

Suffragette Pathé UK

A

“

n incredible campaign, successfully creating a mustsee event,” hailed one judge of Disney’s Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which became the biggest film of all time at the UK box office with a sensational £123m haul. One of the campaign’s objectives — to focus on a disengaged female audience with a Stylist feature and a Fashion Finds The Force event, for example — was highly praised by our judges.

Working with Feref and Team Orchestra at OMD, Disney aimed to heighten nostalgia among older audience members with a series of features in The Daily Telegraph focusing on the heritage of the franchise. It also utilised the popular Lego Star Wars characters to introduce the new film to children, with targeted TV advertising.

“It was a brilliant repositioning of a classic franchise, leading to a 36 Screen International October 2016

‘It was a brilliant repositioning of a classic franchise, leading to a boxoffice result that speaks for itself’

box-office result that speaks for itself,” highlighted one judge.

Other elements of the “impressive” campaign involved a Star Wars sketch on BBC Children In Need — working with Warwick Davis and other celebrities — an army of the new-look stormtroopers escorting Simon Cowell onto the stage during the X Factor final on ITV and multiple window displays in high-street retailers.

Everything culminated in the star-studded premiere that saw the team work with Empire, Odeon and Vue for a takeover of Leicester Square with live music and a laser installation around Nelson’s Column in Trafalgar Square.

“They could have rested on their laurels, but instead delivered an innovative and clever campaign that saturated the market,” summed up one judge. The Force s was definitely with Disney. ■

The Revenant 20th Century Fox

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Alamy

MARKETING TEAM OF THE YEAR

The Ab Fab campaign with Diet Coke; (inset) Made In Chelsea cast members at a screening of Paper Towns

NOMINEES

Curzon Artificial Eye Disney Studios Picturehouse Entertainment

20th Century Fox

D

ealing with a varied slate ranging from Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie to The Revenant, 20th Century Fox’s marketing team drew the attention of our judges for its “consistently strong support of all its films”.

Fox’s biggest film over the past 12 months has been Deadpool with £38m, representing only 15% of its overall box office.

Deadpool was driven by a digital campaign that saw Fox team up with Manchester United FC and the Ballboys charity, while its work on The Revenant saw it elevate the film to a mass market and gross a stunning £23m. Ab Fab’s release was supported by one of the c o m p a n y ’s b i g g e s t b r a n d promotions campaigns of recent years, teaming up with the likes of Diet Coke, GHD and Cadbury.

“They never let go of any opportunity and never give up on any of www.screendaily.com

‘A fantastic year for a fantastic team that is constantly innovating’

their films,” praised one judge, highlighting the “clever, inventive and sustained campaign” for Deadpool. This year the marketing team has worked more closely with the publicity, promotions and trade marketing teams to formulate central plans and ideas for each film, helping make every release as big as it can be.

The past 12 months have also seen the team put partnerships at the heart of its work, including teaming up with ITV to launch The Martian campaign during halftime of the England v Wales rugby union match, alongside a secondary partnership with Twitter, and product placement for Paper Towns in E4’s Made In Chelsea, with the show featuring two cast members going to a screening of the film.

“It’s been a fantastic year for a fantastic team that is constantly innos vating,” concluded one judge. ■ October 2016 Screen International 37

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Cinema Association. “Each of his 14 sites bears testament to his dedication and energy.”

The digitisation of cinema has helped in operating such venues in relatively remote areas of the UK, Greaves believes. “Up until then, largely, I don’t think the strategy for releasing films, or the availability of films to smaller sites, was ever possible. It’s been an expensive period, but one that has a lot of benefits,” he says. He adds that digitisation has also meant buildings that previously would not have been suitable for a cinema can now be adapted.

His work in getting films out to the widest possible audience has been praised by the industry. “Geoff ’s enthusiasm for the cinema business is clear at every one of his sites,” highlighted Andrew Turner, director of sales for UK and Ireland at 20th Century Fox. “He is a shining example of the contribution so many smaller operators make in bringing the big-screen experience to communities across the country.”

Geoff Greaves Owner and operator, Merlin Cinemas

S

ince selling his house in 1990 to buy the historic Savoy Cinema in Penzance, Geoff Greaves, owner and operator of the Merlin Cinemas chain, has become one of the saviours of old cinemas in the UK. His passion for the film industry began when he was 16 and worked at the Regal in Purley, which, sadly, has since been knocked down, doing everything from tearing tickets to hosting the Saturday cinema club. Before buying the Savoy, Greaves managed the CIC Wycombe, which posted 1 million admissions a year from just six screens and 1,800 seats.

“Becoming self-employed was risky, but fortunately the Savoy was crying out for love and enthusiasm, and after four years it went from 25,000 to 95,000 admissions,” he recalls. It was also responsible for Robin Hood: Prince Of Thieves becoming one of his favourite films, given it did such impressive numbers during his first full summer as the Savoy’s owner.

Since then, Merlin Cinemas has gone from strength to strength and currently operates 42 screens in 14 sites across the country. Greaves is keen to

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‘To grow admissions we need cinemas in towns that don’t have them — smaller cinemas in less wellknown places, but greatly appreciated by the residents’

point out it is “very much a team effort” at Merlin Cinemas, and that his real passion is for cinema buildings and the business model of cinema over the films themselves.

To that end, Merlin Cinemas has often focused on renovating historic cinemas. “My favourite thing is always to take the original cinema and upgrade or modernise it,” he notes. “Sometimes we have to take other buildings and convert them, but hopefully we always do it in the right style.”

Merlin Cinemas operates five venues in Cornwall and five in Devon, with further sites in Gloucestershire, Norfolk, Scotland and Wales. Greaves cites the Phoenix Cinema in Falmouth as one that best showcases their work. “When you walk through the doors of that very old building, you walk into a modern miniplex, which you wouldn’t realise from the outside,” he enthuses.

It is this dedication to independent cinemas that has led to this year’s Exhibition Achievement Award. “It represents long-overdue recognition of the creativity and commitment he has brought to the independent cinema sector,” says Phil Clapp, CEO of the UK

The way ahead Greaves believes the greatest challenge exhibitors face is the increased cost of operating cinemas, both in terms of film rental and paying staff, with increased ticket prices necessary to meet the extra costs. One advantage for his company is its “fairly tight overhead”, which means it can afford to run sites in places where bigger operators perhaps could not.

Next year, Merlin Cinemas will expand by at least one site as renovation is expected to start on the Ritz in Penzance. “It’s one of the few surviving original art deco single-screen cinemas,” he explains. “We managed to snatch it from the developers at 48-hours notice.

It was quite a battle, but we’re looking forward to renovating it.”

Merlin Cinemas is also in negotiations for two more sites it is “close” to signing. Saving cinemas that would “no doubt have been lost” ranks as Greaves’ personal achievement across his career to date. It also helps keep cinemas local, which, he says, will benefit the UK film industry as a whole.

“I believe to grow UK admissions further we need cinemas in towns that don’t have them,” Greaves outlines.

“These will be smaller cinemas in often less well-known places, but greatly appreciated by the residents who will welcome a good, truly local cinema and s support it.” ■ October 2016 Screen International 39

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HIGHLY COMMENDED

The Jungle Book

Curzon Artificial Eye “They are innovative and never do the same thing twice, with smart, well-targeted campaigns,” summed up one jud e o ur on rtificial Eye. Highlights of the past year have seen the company team up with Secret Cinema and Edible Cinema for Victoria and Our Little Sister respectively, while Son Of Saul was supported by a 35mm touring programme pre-release. o o fice totalled m rom u ust to uly Love & Friendship was its biggest hit with more than m and our jud es elt ur on rtificial ye is enefitin rom uildin a rand ach film has a espo e original and interesting campaign,” said one judge.

NOMINEES

Disney Studios

S

tar Wars: The Force Awakens may be the biggest film of all time at the UK box office with £123m, but our judges singled out The Jungle Book (the biggest film of 2016 to date with £45.8m) as an example of what Disney Studios does best.

“The box-office result is just mindblowing,” enthused one judge. “What they were clever in doing was saying very early on that this isn’t just a children’s film. They just got it straight away.”

The past year has also seen Disney score successes with Zootropolis (£23.8m), Finding Dory (more than £40m to date) and Captain America: Civil War (£36.9m).

“They are consistently brilliant at what they do and have had a great year,” outlined one judge, citing “amazing campaigns across a breadth of genres”.

With an aim to put the “con-

40 Screen International October 2016

‘They knock it out of the park, both in the conception of their films and the way they position them’

20th Century Fox Picturehouse Entertainment

sumer’s experience at the forefront of our decision-making”, each film’s campaign has seen Disney embrace the changing technological landscape with targeted digital activations, seeing social interaction rates outperform each previous release, and capitalising on every potential audience such as with a ‘Film Noir’ campaign for Zootropolis to attract an older audience.

The premieres for Star Wars and Captain America: Civil War also involved the first-ever camera-crew live streams, as opposed to mobile filming, on Facebook, engaging more than 2.5 million users.

“They never miss anything,” summed up one judge. “They’re always going after every single penny and they’re knocking it out of the park, both in the conception of their films and the way they s position them.” ■ www.screendaily.com

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