What’s on? Film programming, structured choice and the production of cinema culture in contemporary Britain

Film programming creates a commercial and cultural interface between the industry which makes, sells and shows films, and the audience of cinema-goers who consume them. Conventionally, film industries are conceptualised according to the tripartite division of production, distribution and exhibition. In this scheme, programming sits between distribution and exhibition, outside the domain of production. But through the processes of selection and combination, the programme becomes a work of cultural production. The programme is an 'overtext', a text produced from a number of texts, that is, the individual films. This article explores some of the logics at work in programming practice to reflect on how these contribute to the production of contemporary cinema culture in Britain.