Make films shorter if you want them to be shown in cinemas, says Picturehouse director | film

Directors have to make shorter films if they want their work to be shown in cinemas, the head of one of the UK’s leading film and distribution companies has said.

Picturehouse Cinemas creative director Claire Baines made the comments after receiving this year’s Bafta award for Outstanding British Contribution to Cinema, amid concerns about film running times being steadily lengthened.

Recent blockbusters have topped the three-hour mark, including Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon (206 minutes) and Brady Corbett’s The Brutalist (215 minutes), a trend that festival bosses have warned is creating major scheduling problems.

Baines says directors need to ensure a comfortable viewing experience for audiences if they want people to return to the big screen.

“I talk to producers about this and say, ‘Tell the director that you’re making the movie for the audience, not the directors,’” she said. “There are always exceptions, but I watch a lot of movies and think: ‘You can take 20 minutes of that.’ There’s no need for movies to be that long.

Picturehouse programs have their runtimes interrupted when they are incorporated into a movie — as is the case with The Brutalist — but extended runtimes limit how movie theaters operate.

“That means you only get one evening show,” Baines said. “I think it’s a wake-up call for directors. If they want their films in cinemas, people have to feel comfortable about what they’re committing to.”

Over the course of his four-decade career, Baines has built a reputation for championing diverse, independent filmmaking, working with directors including Danny Boyle, Steve McQueen, Charlotte Regan, and Alice Winokur. She started out as an usher at the Ritzy Cinema in Brixton, south London, in 1981, and later managed Zoo Cinemas before joining Picturehouse in 2003.

Like much of the sector, Picturehouse has endured a turbulent few years. Movie theaters have been hit hard by coronavirus closures and the slow return of audiences, and the pressures were compounded by a 2023 Hollywood writers and actors strike, which disrupted release schedules.

This month, Leonardo DiCaprio questioned whether audiences still had an “appetite” for cinema after his critically acclaimed film Battle After Battle failed to break even at the box office.

Baines said cinemas are in “much better shape” than they were two years ago. “It has been very difficult for cinemas. During Covid, everyone is used to sitting on sofas and watching streaming services. But that is changing. We are working with streamers to attract people.”

She pointed to repertory programming as evidence of renewed interest. “We are seeing young audiences coming to see Hitchcock and Agnès Varda on the big screen.”

There are still concerns about industry consolidation, including Netflix’s bid to buy Warner Bros. Discovery. “Any shift in the studio is troubling,” Baines said. “But people predicted the end of cinema many times – when television arrived, when we went digital. And we are still standing.”

For cinemas to remain sustainable, authenticity and commitment are crucial, she said. “Anora, Hamnet, and Marty Supreme were all original stories. When filmmakers engage properly, do Q&As and work with theaters, audiences respond.”

The Binns have also led initiatives to integrate cinemas into their local communities, including partnerships with Brixton Soup Kitchen and Poetic Unity. She warned that the closure of local cinemas was “certainly a cause for concern” and called for a reduction in VAT.

“Local movie theaters are great resources. They get people out of their homes, they’re community centers. If that goes away, that’s a tragedy,” she said.

Bynes will receive the BAFTA award at the Film Awards on February 22. She described the award as a “great honour” and said it recognized the cultural and commercial importance of cinemas. “I am one of the many people who are doing everything they can to put great movies in theaters and keep movie theaters running.”

Emily Stillman, Chair of the BAFTA Film Committee, said: “Claire Baines’ influence on the British film industry is profound – she is an immensely talented and beloved visionary. [Her] Her unwavering commitment to bringing a diverse range of stories to the big screen, her belief in the power of cinema and her ongoing work supporting emerging independent filmmakers is inspiring.