Film4’s senior commissioning executive Cate Kane on the former colleagues, critics and TikTok creators who give her film tips.
Film recommendations are absolutely led by word of mouth. I’ll always canvas a variety of opinions from people whose taste I trust, such as my former colleague at Mubi, Kevin Chan. Ella Kemp from Letterboxd has the best recommendations — a 100% hit rating when she suggests a great film.
Both Kevin and Ella are open-minded about the films they choose to watch and recommend — I like the variety of genres that they can get into. It’s great to have good taste in film, but it doesn’t need to be snobby. Sometimes I’ll get a recommendation for a film just as pure entertainment without needing critical dissection, and that’s fine with me.
Ella raved to me about Josephine by Beth de Araujo after seeing it at Sundance. She knows I loved Beth’s previous film [Soft & Quiet, 2022], and the way she spoke about it has put it on my must-watch list.
For TV, I’m more open to discovering something based on my mood, and it’s about what’s on the platform/channel at the time. Filmmakers I admire who make TV are the exception, where I’ve earmarked the transmission date so I can watch, like, Charlotte Regan’s Mint.
The WhatsApp group I really value is from my days in acquisitions, with a small group of international buyers from France, Spain, Italy and other countries. They all recommend films that may not have been on my radar.
Jessica Kiang is the holy grail of film criticism for me. If she gives something a rave, I’m absolutely going to make sure I see it, even if I’ve heard differently from someone else.
There’s a regular conversation at work about what’s on and coming up for both big and small screens. Channel 4 regularly highlights upcoming programmes for us internally and Farhana [Bhula, director of Film4] encourages film conversation within the team, wanting to know what people have seen and who was sat in the theatre with them.
We recently discussed the cinema audience for Wuthering Heights and The Drama. Everyone from our team seemed to be in a cinema full of Gen Z. That’s encouraging and exciting to see a younger crowd so engaged in theatrical.
I love the BIFA podcast. Every episode makes me want to watch or rewatch films based on the guest that week. It renews my excitement for British indie film.
I really enjoy Jacob Stolworthy’s TikToks where he highlights hidden gems. There’s a lot on there to send you into a film spiral. And Letterboxd is essential, though I’m a lurker rather than a poster. Mike Flanagan’s recommendations on Letterboxd are always worth a look.
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