How do we choose what films to put on? This is a question that we are often asked and, since we’ve also had good feedback about this year’s programme, it is worth outlining how we put it together.

Whereas some film societies entrust the film programming to one person, or to a small group, in Forest Row everyone takes part. The committee is made up of 13 people, with varying film interests, and everyone is encouraged to make suggestions for the next season. Thinking about future screenings is a continual activity, since every film any of us sees (at other cinemas, festivals, on DVD) or reads about could make its way on to the programme.

We start collecting ideas in the autumn, and gather them in a publicly-accessible place on this website. This means that anyone, not just the committee, can contribute possible films for consideration. Last year’s list included 40 posts comprising well over a hundred different films, and we’re already collecting ideas for next season.

We try to get a good balance of films, being from around the world, without too much of a bias towards any one country, and also from a good range of periods in cinema’s history; we don’t just want to screen new films, or those that everyone has seen. Indeed, an important strand of what we do is showcase some great works from the whole history of film, from the silent era onwards. Even so, another important factor has to be that we at least break even; we try to imagine that all of the films we include could attract 80-100 people, and we have to feel passionate about showing them. It isn’t enough to include films that you vaguely remember liking twenty years ago; films date, and responses to them change, so it is usually essential that at least two members of the committee have seen a film and (importantly) feel strongly enough about it that we should show it.

But we’re not obsessed about old films; we like to see new releases as much as anyone, so we are always on the lookout for new titles that would appeal; often, we may see films in London that barely got a national release, and we also go to one or more special preview weekends aimed at independents and community cinemas. The Independent Cinema Office runs two such weekends a year, and the British Federation of Film Societies also gives us opportunities to see films on their lists.

Such previews are great since it makes it easy to book the films once you have chosen them, and you invariably get lots of other ideas for films by talking to other people at these events. The ease of booking is important; all the films we screen need to have a licence from the distributor and it makes life much simpler if the distributor can be easily located. For the same reason, we also review the lists of films available from the BFI, Filmbank and BFFS to get ideas, since making the booking through those organisations is so easy.

However, if there is a film that one or more person on the committee is particularly enthusiastic about but which isn’t available from one of the usual sources, then it is worth spending some time to trace the licence holder and negotiate a licence fee from them (if the committee agrees). Finding the distributor can be very challenging, but it is worth doing for really stunning films.

As a committee we normally meet to start planning the programme around January and gradually put together a long list, adding to the suggestions on the website. By April we should have whittled it down to a shorter list, and will also have some titles added to the list from the April preview weekend.

For our main programme this year we had 20 spaces in the calendar, ie Friday films which were not for the Transition Forest Row programme, which is programmed separately. To help create balance in the final selection, this year we grouped the short list into four categories:

• New films (ie released in the last year)
• Recent(ish) films (ie released in the last 20 years
• Repertory films (pre 1992)
• Light/comedies

then, when deciding the programme, we had to collectively agree on at least four from each category, and then made up any shortfall with other titles on the lists. This way we could be sure that we had a reasonable balance, which also had an eye to the national origin of each film. We were keen to include a lighter element to the programme this year too, since we are conscious that we have a reputation for only showing dark, serious films, and are keen to counter that, for our sanity as much as our audience’s. We also have half an eye on previous years’ programmes, ie what got good responses, and larger audiences, though we don’t just want to be screening crowd-pleasers; sometimes we hope you trust us to challenge your viewing a bit too. So, this is what was on the short list:

Those marked with an asterisk are the ones that made it in to the programme. This left us with a slightly disproportionate number of films being new releases, and with one gap. We wanted to include a silent film and couldn’t quite agree on which one.

As it happened, any twenty films from this short list would have made a great programme, so what influenced our decisions? At that stage Les Intouchables hadn’t had a UK release so was hard to source, but other titles that had not been released in the UK could be, so Cairo Station made its way on to the programme, though Jacques Rivette’s 36 Views of Pic St Loup didn’t (alas). For others, the rights were too hard to obtain, or too expensive, or there just wasn’t enough enthusiasm for a given film by enough of the committee. To have a good chance of getting on to the programme, a film needs to have strong vocal support from more than one person. For that to occur, a film also needs to be reasonably good (funnily enough), so we all draw on reviews as well as watching films to help inform our decisions.

Finally, just because we have rejected a film one year doesn’t mean that we’ll never show it. Departures was on the short list the year before but didn’t quite make it, and other titles are ones that we may have spoken about several years ago. In the end, we hope we get the balance right for a given season, and take note of your suggestions too. Our focus is on world cinema, for sure, but that doesn’t mean we can’t do other things too, so let us have your suggestions. We may not have the resources to do everything but if you have enough energy and passion there’s no reason why you can’t contribute to creating an excellent community cinema.