Registration & Badge Pick-Up
1:00PM - 5:00PM | Agile Registration Hub, VenueSIX10
Pick up your badge, your bag, and hit the lounge to meet independent film exhibition colleagues NEW and old!
Allies In Audience Building: The Power In Creative Partnerships (Leadership)
1:45 - 3:00 PM | Room 711 | VenueSIX10
Strength in numbers and power through collaboration! Theatres and festivals can greatly benefit from working with local non-profit partner organizations to help diversify program offerings and drive lasting audience growth. In this session, attendees will learn from programmers, festival organizers and community leaders about best practices for developing impactful partnership formats and structures, finding the right partners for your events or festival, and engaging these partners in a meaningful and intentional way that gives them a platform for their own work and incentivizes them to collaborate with you again.
How to Open an Art House: A Case Study (Operations, Dev, Leadership, Programming)
1:45 - 3:00 PM | Room 421| VenueSIX10
Opening a cinema is equal parts dream and discipline. This case study follows the real-world journey of bringing a theater from concept to opening night, unpacking the critical decisions, unexpected challenges, and hard-earned lessons along the way. Drawing on lessons learned from past Art House Convergence conferences and the collective experience of AHC member organizations, join Ira Deutchman as he walks through site selection, capital planning, design and construction, staffing, programming strategy, and the operational ramp-up required to open their doors successfully.
Intro to Improv (Field Wide)
1:45 - 3:00 PM | Room 313| VenueSIX10
Put your film intro skills to the test and learn some improvisational skills during this interactive breakout. Participants will learn a variety of games and exercises before putting those tips to the test with imaginary intros to imaginary events/screenings. Come practice some public speaking skills and start your conference with the ultimate icebreaker…improv!
An International Look at Repertoire and Independent Film Exhibition (Operations, Marketing, Programming)
1:45 - 3:00 PM | Room 314| VenueSIX10
Repertory film programming is experiencing a global resurgence, with independent cinemas around the world drawing younger and first-time audiences to classic films on the big screen. Panelists will discuss audience trends, international perspectives, and the growing role of repertory cinema in the future of independent film exhibition.
Crafting Your Professional Story (Field Wide)
2:00 - 3:15 PM | Room 707| VenueSIX10
Need to update your professional bio? Never written a professional bio before? Join us for a hands on workshop and leave the session with a professional bio you can use for your LinkedIn profile, website, panels, and webinars. Bring your laptop and current bio (or be prepared to write one). Catch a headshot session this week too and leave IND/EX ready to showcase your professional persona!
Let’s Make Movie Merch! (Marketing, Operations)
2:00 - 3:15 PM | Room 423| VenueSIX10
Curious about making quality merchandise that authentically speaks to you and your community but not sure where to begin? Don't worry, Super Yaki (the internet's third favorite movie merch brand) has made every mistake possible in the last 10 years and somehow they're still here so there's hope for you yet. Through a decade of trial and error, Super Yaki has learned what works (and what doesn't) and they're here to share that insight with you in your quest for making meaningful merch with intention. The days of slapping a logo on a cheap shirt are over. Let's make movie quality merch together.
Understanding Your Numbers: A Practical Finance 101 for Cinemas (Operations, Marketing, Dev)
2:00 - 3:15 PM | Room 721 | VenueSIX10
Financial literacy is essential to running a successful cinema but it doesn’t have to be intimidating. This introductory session breaks down key financial concepts like profit & loss (Statement of Activity for the non-profits!), cash flow, margins, and projections in a clear, accessible way for film festival and cinema professionals. Demystify the numbers behind your operations and learn how to use them to make smarter, more sustainable decisions. Designed for beginners and non-finance staff, this session will help you build confidence, ask better questions, and better understand your organization’s financial health.
Decentering the Traditional Film Expert (Education, Programming)
3:30 - 4:45 PM | Room 314 | VenueSIX10
When it comes to eventizing screenings, enhancing the audience experience or providing educational context, a safe approach has been to invite a local subject matter expert - academic, film critic or writer - to introduce or contextualize a film for the audience. In this session, we invite attendees to think outside the box and explore other potential guests and approaches - from engaging cultural figures such as authors, musicians, and activists as part of post-screening conversations, to enhancing screenings with conversation circles or performances and displays by local artists. This approach challenges the traditional notion of who gets to program, present and speak about cinema, allows for an alternative perspective on film history and creates space for active community engagement.
Media Training (Marketing, Leadership, Programming)
3:30 - 4:45 PM | Room 313 | VenueSIX10
Awkward on camera? Don't know what to do with your hands? This workshop will share tips and tricks for better media appearances from how to stand to what to say. Put those tips to test by recording a soundbite about your organization at the end of the workshop that you can use for your organization and IND/EX will use to create a campaign for supporting your local film orgs.
Breaking Up with Your Ex Machina (Fighting the AI Machine): Current Status of AI use in Filmmaking (Programming, Ops, Accessibility)
3:30 - 4:45 PM | Room 711 | VenueSIX10
AI is rapidly entering the cinematic landscape and reshaping the relationship between technology and film production. With new opportunities come real questions about cost, accuracy, ethics, and the risk of losing the human voice that defines great film. This guided discussion will explore how AI is already being used in the independent film space, how festivals and theaters can respond to it, and what it means for audiences.
Which Should Lead: The Numbers or the Vision? (Operations, Dev, Leadership, Marketing)
3:30 - 4:45 PM | Room 711 | VenueSIX10
Mission and revenue goals don’t always point in the same direction…so how do organizations decide what comes first? This (sure to be lively) moderated debate brings together leaders from programming, finance, leadership, and development to explore the ongoing tension between artistic vision and financial sustainability. Our “Team Mission” and “Team Revenue” panelists will tackle real-world scenarios facing arts & culture organizations, from audience-building and budgeting to risk-taking and long-term strategy. Rather than offering easy answers, the session aims to spark thoughtful conversation about how mission-driven organizations balance purpose and practicality in today’s landscape.
From Presentation to Participation (Programming, Education, Leadership)
3:45 - 5:00 PM | Room 707 | VenueSIX10
Festivals and art house cinema have long played a vital role in presenting and amplifying social movements through their programming. But what would it look like to move beyond representation and into active participation? This discussion brings together exhibitors, organizers, and cultural leaders to explore how cinemas can engage more directly with the issues they highlight on screen.
Frame by Frame - Envisioning Your Future Success (Field Wide)
3:45 - 4:45PM | Room 721 | VenueSIX10
Communicating your goals in a clear and concise way is an important skill in everyday life, even more so if you lead a team or organization. But how do you organize your thoughts and ideas into a coherent narrative that reflects your personal and your organization’s values? Join us for a facilitated, hands on workshop to create a visualization of future goals - whether they are personal or professional, individual or organizational - and set an intention going into the wee
Art House Audience Trends (Marketing, Programming)
4:00 - 4:45 PM | Room 707 | VenueSIX10
Presented by Woody Smith of Avenue ISR, see the latest in art house audience trends and find out what audiences really want.