Founded in late 2009, Land in Focus is a London-based non-profit multidisciplinary arts organisation which has a primary focus on film. We regularly produce country or region-specific events that showcase the film and arts of underrepresented areas in UK film exhibition, offering Londoners a far greater insight into that region than would usually be available. Land in Focus is devoted to revealing and promoting emerging talents from the countries we work with, providing them with a high profile platform to share their works with a large and creative international audience in London.
We have staged events which examine the cinematic culture of Mexico, Estonia, Vietnam, Egypt, Peru, Finland, Indonesia and Lithuania. We have collaborated with prestigious festivals such us the East End Film Festival (Experimental Baltic Cinema), Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (Disturbing Mexico) or Shubbak, London’s first ever celebration of contemporary culture from across the Arab world presented by the Mayor of London (A Day of Contemporary Arab Culture). Our programmes have been presented in traditional movie theatres, auditoriums, art galleries, pop-up cinemas and arts centres.
From selecting the country, researching and designing the programme to the day of the event itself, we expose ourselves to new viewing experiences, we explore new perspectives and aesthetics, and we gain insight into alternative cultures. We are wholeheartedly grateful to the people who support and collaborate with us. This includes filmmakers, producers, distributors, artists, musicians, cultural advisers, writers, and volunteers who have facilitated contact with the countries we are aiming to promote purely motivated by their enthusiasm for the project. We cannot overstate the importance of these relationships to the ultimate success of our project and we thank all those who have contributed to our events.
Finally, we are indebted to our audience, whose support and enthusiasm for exploring new territories make our events worth the time and painstaking effort that goes into them.
Jesús Mateos
Founder & Creative Director of Land in Focus
