The head of acquisitions and development at UK sales outfit Bankside Films explains why she turns to Instagram and her old DVD collection to guide her viewing habits. 

sophie green c bankside films

Source: Bankside FIlms

Sophie Green

I try my hardest to avoid reviews because I want to experience films on their own terms. I’d rather not have my reaction shaped by someone else’s interpretation. For me, the fun is going in clean and forming my own take. My approach has always been to watch as widely as possible, whether it’s a tiny festival gem or the latest studio tentpole. Afterwards, I do enjoy diving into the reviews.

I actively use Instagram where I follow a mix of critics, trade publications, filmmakers, actors and festivals. Opening my Insta now, there’s [youth cinema organisation] Massive Cinema, Glasgow Film Festival, Letterboxd, Creative Review… just in one scroll. It’s a way of consuming a lot of film-related content without feeling like homework. I like that it creates intrigue around upcoming releases without needing to watch trailers or read reviews. I get a sense of what’s generating conversation but I still go into the film itself without too much preconception.

Within my acquisitions department we have a weekly round-up of things we’ve watched, which usually ends up in a healthy debate. I have two people in my team. We tend to do this via Zoom, but in-person if we can. My opinions on Sinners and Weapons, for example, were seemingly controversial.

My brother-in-law is a horror mega-fan, he writes reviews for fun on Instagram and is our oracle for all things horror. We often argue when he hasn’t listed a Bankside-backed horror in his ‘best of the year’ list. My boyfriend is a Marvel geek who watches every trailer, reads every review and drags me to most things on opening weekend to avoid spoilers. And my over-the-fence neighbours seem to watch every reality show under the sun.

There’s comfort in re-encountering a film you already have a relationship with. Who hasn’t watched Jurassic Park a thousand times? Having recently moved house, I’ve dusted off the old DVD player and am working my way through my old DVD collection, such as Punch Drunk Love, which is such a bonkers and joyful film. I used to host a cinema club called Social Cinema, which was based on this idea of comfort watching as a group. I screened From Dusk Till Dawn, True Romance, Elf, Muriel’s Wedding and Old School — they were super fun and very interactive.

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