Opportunities

Technical Manager

Open City Documentary Festival celebrates the art of non-fiction, creating an open space in London to nurture and champion the art of creative documentary and non-fiction filmmakers. The festival is based at UCL within the Department of Anthropology.

The fifteenth edition of the festival will take place from the 6th – 11th May 2025. 


Dates: 

2 days per week from w/c 17th February  

3 days per week from w/c 31st March   

Full time from 6th – 11th May (inclusive of weekend)   

7 days wrap-up after festival

Fee: £5810 

£140/day for 34 days, £175/day for 6 days (to account for longer days worked during the festival) 

Location: East London (Shoreditch and Stratford)

Reports to: Director of Programming, Festival Director

Responsible for: Talks & Workshops Technician


Main Purpose of the Job 

Open City Documentary Festival is currently looking for a Technical Manager to join the team for the 2025 edition of the festival They will be responsible for the technical delivery of the festival film programme, ensuring all screening materials are received on time and in the correct formats. They will also oversee the technical delivery of the Talks and Workshops programme and provide technical support to additional events where required. 

Additional Details: 

The position holder must be available to work the full dates of the festival 6th -11th of May, including the weekend. Flexible working hours will be required during the festival dates. 


Duties and Responsibilities:  

  • Liaise with filmmakers, distributors and archives to coordinate the delivery of all digital and analogue film screening formats.
  • Manage the transportation of films and videos and the accompanying paperwork, booking both national and international couriers.
  • Maintain detailed tracking documents, logging delivery status and technical information regarding each film/screening.  
  • Liaise with festival cinema venues regarding the delivery and testing of screening materials. 
  • Liaise with venues and filmmakers / external curators to arrange technical rehearsals.  
  • DCP creation and Quality Control of digital screening materials. 
  • Create pre-screening slides from template and deliver all pre-screening materials to venues.  
  • Work with programming and production team to advise on technical set-up and delivery of special events, arranging rental of any additional technical equipment required. 
  • Contribute to procedure sheets for all festival events with technical information and screening orders. 
  • Manage print transport and technical budgets, maintaining records of projected and confirmed expenditure.  
  • Collect and log replacement values of film prints for insurance purposes 
  • Liaise with filmmakers and subtitling service to source materials required for creation of descriptive and live subtitling.  
  • Prepare playback computer for Talks and Workshops programme, including the preparation of clips and slides as required. 
  • Contribute to festival production ­meetings. 
  • Coordinate return of screening materials from venues and arrange onward shipping.  
  • Finalise budgets and provide wrap report. 
  • Any other duties that are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the job, as requested by the festival team.  

Person Specification 

Essential Criteria:  

  • Demonstrable experience handling both digital and analogue film formats. 
  • Good working knowledge video screening media, including video and audio codecs, framerates, subtitling and aspect ratios. 
  • Strong attention to detail and a proactive approach to checking the accuracy of information. 
  • Knowledge of a variety of video and audio post-production software. 
  • Excellent organisational skills with the ability to prioritise workload and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment  
  • Ability to act as an ambassador to the festival and deal effectively with people at all levels.
     

Desirable Criteria 

  • Prior experience working with national and international courier shipments, ideally involving the import and export of films / cultural items. 

As part of London’s Global University, we know diversity fosters creativity and innovation. We are committed to equality of opportunity, to being fair and inclusive, and to being a place where we all belong. 

We therefore particularly encourage applications from candidates currently underrepresented in UCL’s workforce and within the cultural sector. These include: people from Black, Asian and ethnic minority backgrounds, disabled people and LGBTQ+ people.  

To apply please complete this form and send a CV to info@opencitylondon.com with the subject line “2025 Technical Manager Application”.

Applications close at 11:59 pm GMT on Monday 9th of December. Interviews will take place the w/c January 13th.