We’re all familiar with the annual screenings of John Carpenter’s Halloween or Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life that pop up each October and December at independent picture houses across the country. Seasonal screenings like these are a wonderful way to engage mainstream audiences with your organisation, your cinema or with a type of film they may not have previously experienced. From respectful remembrance to vital representation to nothing more than an excuse to screening a Star Wars marathon, here are some annual dates and celebrations to provide a different perspective when it comes to programming calendar specific cinema.

Black History Month – October 2017

Black History Month is a wonderful opportunity to celebrate black culture and acknowledge the struggles and injustices of black history throughout the world. This month of recognition provides space to spread your programming wings and collaborate with local organisations. My advice would be to recognise the injustice still faced by black communities. For example, to shine a light on the current day police brutality towards African Americans in the United States, a double bill of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing and his latest feature Chi-Raq might spark wonderful debate and discussion, with both films tackling the issues of gang and police violence at different times in America. Programme respectfully for black history month and use this as an opportunity to celebrate black culture, filmmakers and history – another film that comes to mind is Oscar favourite Hidden Figures.

Representation upon the screen is so important to ensure that the screenings and events you hold in this month tell black stories and portray black individuals. Perhaps think about arranging a screening of Girlhood or The Fits for a local girls’ community group and hold a focus group with them afterwards, giving them a chance to speak about the films and their thoughts that the films may have provoked.

Holocaust Memorial Day – 27 January

Remembering the atrocities of the Holocaust is incredibly important – with many Holocaust Memorial Day events focusing on the necessity of restoring of memories and preserving the encounters of the survivors and victims. Harrowing encounters are of course found in Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah – a nine-hour documentary which explores the horrific truths and crimes of the Holocaust. If you’re worried the substantial running time may put off your audience then why not screen the film within part of an exhibition – sometimes cinema can be at its most powerful when it’s placed in the background of an event. Andre Singer’s remarkable Night Will Fall is another example of film capturing the haunting events that happened within concentration camps during World War 2 – again you could screen this as a stand-alone screening or alongside collaborative events with a local history society.      

National Popcorn Day – 19 January

We’re all used to seeing absurd days of celebration pop up on our social media feeds, from National Avocado Day to National Hug a Ginger Day so why not embrace this trend by making an event around National Popcorn Day. This day of appreciation makes us think of big blockbuster movie going experiences so perhaps treat this as a day to celebrate the greats.

The king of the American blockbuster is of course Steven Spielberg so perhaps a retrospective of his greatest work would not only draw in crowds but also families. Use the universal appeal of the blockbuster to pull a larger audience than perhaps you would normally attract. It could also be treated as a day to celebrate the origins of the medium with a programme of shorts from the Lumière Brothers or George Melies. The possibilities are vast with a day as vague and adaptable as ‘National Popcorn Day’. Why not use it to celebrate a particular style of storytelling such as animation, or the silent cinema greats. You could make it a Hollywood specific event and celebrates the studio system classics from Singin’ In the Rain to Gone with the Wind.        

World Autism Awareness Day – 2 April

Autism Awareness Day is an opportunity to shine a light on the struggles faced by those with Autism, in all its many forms. It’s a chance to celebrate the wonderful achievements of autistic people and also provide support for the families and friends of those living with someone who has autism. Building awareness about such a complex and misunderstood condition can be done in many forms and cinema, as always, is a wonderful method for doing just this.

Hosting a screening and also working alongside a local autism organisation or charity to create a post-festival discussion or workshop is a wonderful way to tie in cinema with real life and also create a platform for such discussion. When it comes to programming films for these types of events it would be wonderful to see Adam Elliot’s astounding Mary & Max screened for a family audience – a film that deals with a variety of themes from autism, to suicide, to depression, to addiction. There are also wonderful onscreen depictions of autism in My Name is Khan and X+Y.

As well as on screen representation, you could also put on a film workshop with autistic groups within your community – encouraging them to make their own films and then hold a community screening of their work.      

Roald Dahl Day – 13 September

Bringing literature and film together is always a joyous thing. It’s been done repeatedly with Shakespeare, Austen and the Bronte Sisters but I don’t think there is any other author whose work has been so successfully adapted for the screen than Roald Dahl. Animated marvels such as Wes Anderson’s Fantastic Mr. Fox to the Gene Wilder classic Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and of course Danny Devito’s directed version of Matilda.

There are also slightly forgotten gems such as James & the Giant Peach and The Witches which should be resurrected and brought to new young audiences. The Dahl cinema cannon is rich in texture, style and imaginative storytelling and an ideal reason to bring together lovers of the films and books that make up his legacy.

Conclusion

The above ideas are just a few suggestions of ways that we can begin to think about using cinema to celebrate and promote annual days of interest and awareness. There are hundreds of other dates and days that can be used to inspire creative film event programming, you just need to think a little outside of the box.