Cinenova

Prior to the merger between the two feminist initiatives that gave rise to Cinenova, Circles was a film and video distributor formed in 1979 by Lis Rhodes, Jo Davis, Annabel Nicolson and Felicity Sparrow. It emerged in response to the exclusion of women from that year’s national exhibition of experimental films. Circles operated on the principle that filmmakers included in the catalogue would also become members of the organisation and participate in its assemblies. Titles were selected by a programming committee with broad representation from other women’s collectives involved in production and exhibition. 

Cinema of Women was founded in the same year by a group of filmmakers and academics seeking to challenge the limited availability of films directed by women in mainstream cinemas and on television. Its members included Mandy Rose, Fern Presant, Audrey Summerhill, Caroline Spry, Melanie Chail and Maggie Sellers. In 1983, the group distributed "De stilte rond Christine M." (A Question of Silence, Marleen Gorris, 1982), which quickly became a classic of feminist cinema. In the early 1990s, the British Film Institute cut funding to both organisations, leading to their merger and the establishment of Cinenova.

Today, Cinenova continues to archive and distribute over 300 titles acquired throughout its history. The selection criteria for these films have evolved over the years, prompted by debates about the need to reconsider the concept of feminism in all its forms. This extensive catalogue contains films addressing a variety of themes, including postcolonial and decolonial struggles, as well as representations of gender, race, sexuality and other matters of difference. Above all, the films explore the relationships and alliances between these different forms of resistance. In 2010, the Cinenova Working Group was set up to oversee preservation and distribution efforts, as well as special projects that critically examine the organisation’s conditions. Members include Emma Hedditch, Charlotte Procter, Irene Revell, Moira Salt, Louise Shelley, Marina Vishmidt and Reman Sadani.