Trafalgar Releasing picked up ‘Event Cinema Campaign of the Year’ at this year’s Screen Awards.
On 28 November, Screen International presented the 10th annual Screen Awards, recognising excellence in UK film distribution, exhibition, production, marketing, publicity and brand partnerships.
Celebrating much more than box office results, the Screen Awards acknowledges the wide array of studios, companies, teams and individuals that contributed to the success of the British film industry in 2018.
The ‘Event Cinema Campaign of the Year’ was awarded to Trafalgar Releasing for their recording breaking release of The King and I: from the London Palladium.
Commenting on the Award and what was a successful year for Trafalgar Releasing, CEO Marc Allenby said:
“Thanks to Screen and the judges for selecting The King and I: from the London Palladium as the Event Cinema Campaign of the Year. It was a great collaboration between Trafalgar Releasing, and our parent company Trafalgar Entertainment who co-produced the show. This win highlights the work from the Trafalgar Releasing marketing team and the innovative campaigns they are able to put together for our releases. The production featured the original award winning Broadway cast led by the incredibly talented Kelli O’Hara, Ken Watanabe and Ruthie Ann Miles and we were pleased to see audiences around the world come out to celebrate this timeless classic.”
Trafalgar Releasing were shortlisted for four of their 2018 releases including BTS: Burn The Stage The Movie, Coldplay: A Headful of Dreams and They Shall Not Grow Old along with The Royal Opera House from Modern Films and Holy Mountain Bo Ningen Live at the Rio from Rio Dalston.
Despite not picking up the event cinema award, Rio Dalston had an incredible night picking up two awards for ‘Cinema of the Year’ (in the under 25 screens category) and ‘Cinema Marketing Campaign of the Year’ for their Young Audiences Initiative. So double congratulations to the team at Rio Dalston.
Commenting on the successful night Executive Director, Oliver Meek said:
“The RIO team are delighted and honoured to have won two prestigious industry trophies at this year’s Screen Awards and to have been nominated for a third, this is an unprecedented achievement for an independent cinema, particularly considering the RIO is a non-profit charity with limited resources, but blessed with a fiercely passionate team, dedicated to a love of film and high standards of showmanship.
Much of the RIO’s programme is based on partnerships with local and national youth brands, an important demographic for cinemas as they represent a third of cinema goers overall but their leisure time is a highly competitive battleground. In the past year the RIO has worked with Vice, Boiler Room, Dazed, NTS, Penguin Books, We Are Parable and Mubi to name just a few. These partnerships have enabled the RIO to reach a London wide audience, many of whom are first time visitors to the RIO, and this has created a powerful presence on social media.
The RIO’s events cover film, dance, theatre, cabaret, spoken word, chats, panels and immersive and enhanced screenings, with live music having particularly potent box office appeal when paired with classic and sometimes very obscure classic cinema. The RIO’s grade II listed art deco auditorium with over 400 seats is a key factor in being able to satisfy seat demand and monetise these events.
Partnering with ‘Deeper into Movies’ to screen the Jodorowsky cult title The Holy Mountain with a live score by Japanese rock band Bo Ningen, the RIO sold out instantly with a second show added to meet demand created by a blizzard of activity on social media, and this was nominated for Event Cinema Campaign of the Year. The event brought in audience members from across Greater London (and some even further afield) who would not normally come and either watch an art house cult film or to visit an independent cinema.
2019 has been an amazing year for us, and we look forward to working with Deeper into Movies and all our partners throughout 2020 to provide as much exciting new ground-breaking and diverse content for London audiences as we possibly can.”
Congratulations to all the shortlisted nominees and indeed the winners, a full list of winners on the evening can be found here.