About Boozin’ N Schmoozin’ Networking for Independent Filmmakers
Want to meet indie filmmakers and film lovers around the globe?
Looking to find a team to work on your next project, or volunteer your services for some set time?
Want to chat about movies, share your expertise, or simply chat about the nuances of your favourite film with someone who can tell the difference between Fight Club and Dallas Buyers Club?
Look no further than Boozin’ N Schmoozin’ Networking, our monthly networking event for people who love and make films!
Who should attend?
Anyone looking to break into film or collaborate with filmmakers will benefit from this event, everybody welcome, producers, directors, actors, writers, composers, crew etc, etc
How it works
At Boozin’ N Schmoozin’ Networking, you’ll get to find a team for your next project, share your expertise, or simply chat about the nuances of your favourite films.
During the evening there will be an opportunity for attendees to address the room with requests and offerings.
For example, “I am a writer/director looking for a producer to work with on my new script”, or “I am a DoP looking for new projects to work on”, etc.
- Central London location: Karma Sanctum Hotel, 20 Warwick Street, Soho, London W1B 5NF
- Doors open at 6 :30pm
- 18+ only, cash bar once in
- Pitching starts at 8pm
- Hosted by Alex di Cuffa
- Ground floor bar closes at 11pm, rooftop bar open to 1.30am (last orders 1am)
Photography and filming may be in progress during the course of this event
If you do not want to be photographed please let the organisers know
Did you know?
- Raindance Members get this event FREE
You can join online >HERE< and start saving immediately - This event is FREE for Raindance members, Raindance HND, BA and postgraduate/MA/ students
- We don’t teach ‘filmmaking’ at Raindance. At Raindance we make filmmakers.
Gabriel Cabral (verified owner) –
Great central London spot to meet filmmakers!
Good things:
– Great location if you want to stay around after the event
– There’s a microphone to introduce yourself to everyone at once, and to know what everyone does and just go to the ones you’re interested in meeting!
– Very friendly and supportive atmosphere
– Half price drinks until 8pm (I think so, it’s not very clear..)
Not so good things:
– Prices after 8pm are quite high, £7 for a can of beer. Actually, my friend got charged £6 for the same, but the bartender insisted they’re £7…
– The DVD raffle, would be better to get only one or two prices instead of 5 or 6 but a little bit more interesting.. just a suggestion, not a biggie!
Highly recommended!
nicoloriboni (verified owner) –
It was cool!! I met a bunch of talented and cool filmmakers in a stylish and well organised evening!
Elie de Rosen (verified owner) –
I got the chance to meet some very friendly and encouraging filmmakers. The location is convenient.
I do wish the events introduction phase was shorter. It ended around 9pm, as long it’s ongoing we weren’t allowed to talk.
William Booth (verified owner) –
Great place to network or just meet some cool people. Great location, happy hour until 8pm
Conrad Addo –
Location wasn’t great. When the DJ came on it was almost impossible to speak to people. I would suggest a quieter venue. The previous location was much better.
Rohan Quine (verified owner) –
I went to catch up with a friend/colleague and to make an announcement requesting a small handful of specific post-production skills I needed to locate, and was then approached by five or six people with those skills. Compared with what would have been necessary to achieve the same thing online, this was quicker and easier, and also more informatively personal than Zoom calls would have been. Overall, probably most beneficial if you go to it armed with similarly specific aims.
Miguel Garrido (verified owner) –
Thinking about making your next film? or maybe you are between projects and would like just simply to network? In my opinion Raindance Boozin’ N Schmoozin’ is a brilliant opportunity to find your actors, composers, producers, animators, editors or anybody really that is willing to help you make your film a reality. The location is central and convenient, the people are friendly, and the event is well organised.
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Dan Robins (verified owner) –
Such a lovely and stress-free environment with people who are also passionate about the industry having done smaller and larger projects! It was a breath of fresh air to be around such genuine people who were just interested in making the best they can for themselves in this incredibly challenging space!
Barry Staff (verified owner) –
‘You’re gonna need a bigger’ . . venue (Conrad’s right)
Better when exterior doors can be open in warmer weather.
Barman reckons it’s ‘Happy Hour’ only on cocktails –
– but I’ve had a beer for £4 (not 6) before 8 in the past – not this time.
One more serving would be better than waiting ages.
Made a couple of good contacts though-
-And bumped into friends not seen there for yonks.
Matt M-O –
Location wasn’t a good choice this time. It was far too small, and too narrow for the number of people attending. The acoustics in the room meant that the person on the microphone could barely be heard. I could barely hear the person standing next to me. For some reason boxing was playing on all the TVs, which felt off-brand and a missed opportunity for showcasing films from the community or content relevant to the event. I had to leave early. Outside there a number of attendees who were also feeling the same.
Overall the concept is good, but more effort needs to be put to ensure people can communicate with each other better.
Peter Miller (verified owner) –
Excellent event, I made some very useful contacts, the location was fine, but the acoustics in the room with that number of people made it hard to talk.
Tal Profs (verified owner) –
The Raindance ‘Booze ‘n’ Schmooze’ monthly networking evening is as regular a calendar fixture as I can make.
The location, at Ruby Blue, overlooking Leicester Square is first-rate, and there is always a chance of some star-spotting from the bar’s outside balcony, if a London film première event is taking place. (On 15th May it was Disney’s ‘The Little Mermaid’.)
This is a great place to meet new, and familiar faces alike with a common interest: film-making. It is also a first-rate opportunity to learn about people’s projects, and their creative passions – whether they are directors, writers, producers, cinematographers, sound technicians, photographers, videographers, musicians, or actors.
An increasingly popular monthly event, I suggest you book early to avoid disappointment.
Lynwood Shiva Sawyer (verified owner) –
IB&S IS my social life!
Otherwise, I’d be sitting at home pulling out my hair, staring at a computer screen and obsessing about story beats. Greet meeting such a diverse and congenial group of people. Totally at random, last night at the Brixton screening of BEAU IS AFRAID (see it quick on the big screen while you can, I have a feeling it’s going to quickly vanishk – and Parker Posey has aged remarkably well)., I ran into a woman I had met for the first time Monday night at B&N. Such are the serendipitous synchronicities for attending.
Compere Alex always manages to do an amazing herd-the-cats job in shepherding the attendees in their pitches.
Only quibble as stated, they another bartender and be consistent about beverage prices. Maybe post prices so that the bartenders as well as the guest know the dearl.
James Hargreaves (verified owner) –
Overall three stars but this event requires multiple responses and ratings:
***** 5 stars – have to go to the organisation and running of the event. Thank you for your hard work.
**** 4 stars – To Who you are and What do you do? it was a busy night – Hard to keep track of the plot on this one! (Name badges with what you do??)
*** 3 stars – The bar, is limited, and expensive and with plastic cups, with no food option at the venue (Next point)
** 2 Stars – Aa above the VENUE it was loud and got very crowded, it felt dated like a cheap nightclub (plastic cups!) no bar food menu, small (was at capacity last night)
Overall a good experience and a very well-run event with some friendly folk, but again as for post comments Raindance need to change the VENUE! Please, thank you.
Esther Martin (verified owner) –
Another great night at Boozin’ n Shmoozin’. Come even if you’re alone… everyone chats to everyone. There are no closed circles – just a big bunch of people looking to meet, create and have fun. I’ve come away with another 10 new contact again. There’s nowhere like it. Pitch what you want or who you are at the beginning of the evening or just watch oth people and chat after. Or just come along! See you there!
Barry Staff (verified owner) –
One negative aspect amid the otherwise glorious scene: the large windows and low ceiling at TT make the ambience and acoustics dreadful (not to mention the air quality). While we’re no doubt keeping the venue alive on a Monday night (and, if it’s owned by Novus Leisure, which is now dissolved) on life-support in the short-term. With TT’s bar offering precisely the same drinks as Ruby Blue before this, best to persuade whoever the owners are to let us go back to RB, as it’s better in regard to above mentioned facilities.
Anna Taborska –
An excellent way to find filmmaking/screenwriting opportunities and make friends.
Grace Derriman (verified owner) –
I’m sure it would’ve been good if I could bear the heat and crowd all stuffed into such a small area. I had to leave early as I was overwhelmed.
Gea Eman (verified owner) –
I heard some good reviews about this from people, but I was a bit disappointed. It was crowded, sweaty, and loud. I lost my voice in 10min and went home. I may try another one just on the off chance that this particular one was a miss.
easybullet3 (verified owner) –
What a fantastic way to network and meet people in the industry 🙂
I’m very thankful that this event exists. Its incredibly valuable.
The only negative is the loud music. It’s so hard to speak and hear each other. Several people I spoke with also agreed the music was too loud and hard to hear each other.
If only the venue was quieter with reasonable volume background music, rather than overpowering music.
Really hope you can find a better suited venue where Raindance can decide the music volume, rather than the bar.
Really looking forward to going to the next event 🙂
Rebecca Colby (verified owner) –
Met loads of new filmmaking creatives. Unlike most events I’ve attended elsewhere, we had 20 seconds on a microphone each, which really helped with connecting with the right people.
It was a large venue that accommodated everyone, and was centrally located.
Plenty of staff on hand, including Elliot! Welcoming and a good-sized crowd!
Steven Broad (verified owner) –
After 3 years or more of self tapes any in the room event is like a tap in the desert. The fact this is so well organised is life blood to creatives everywhere.
Central London, cool venue, excellent beer not over priced, wonderful like minded people, why would you not go.
Marybeth Herron (verified owner) –
I had some good conversations and I like the 20 second soap box everyone gets, it makes it easier to find the people you’re looking to meet. My only reason to subtract a star is the venue, Tiger Tiger was pretty expensive for drinks and the night club vibe is a little weird. I know it must be a budget thing, but I’d rather not win badges, mugs or shirts in a raffle, and I’m sure the organisers are good enough at networking to find us something more suitable 🙂
Igor Ismail (verified owner) –
this event is so useful in my opinion and so helpful to make contacts and help each other in the way everyone can! amazing event! thank you, Raindance and Denise! 🙂
Kieran Kavanagh (verified owner) –
Thoroughly enjoyed this networking event. It was very beneficial for us a small duo of filmmakers looking to expand our professional network. Our aim was to meet likeminded individuals to collaborate with in the future. The host was fantastic and managed the event very well. I personally loved the icebreaking touch of giving the opportunity for attendees to take the mic and give a quick introduction of themselves at the start of the event. I haven’t seen this done at other networking events, and felt that it helped ease attendees into engaging with one another. My one bit of feedback to help improve the events in the future would be to ensure some kind of wifi connection at venues. Due to this event in particular being underground, signal was not great and for us, a lot of our work is all over our socials, which we tend to show those we are networking with. Having access to an internet connection for socials is also vital to follow those that we meet in order to keep in touch post event. Whilst I appreciate a lot of networking events out there are free, the small £5 fee was incredibly worth its price due to the larger turn out and spot on management of the event. Worth every penny. We will absolutely be attending the next event and can’t wait for what the future of Raindance has to offer. Sincerely, The Dukes of Cinema.
Helena Klaus (verified owner) –
My friend and I went the first time this year and it was great vibes and awesome chats!
Highly recommend it:)
Vic Silverman (verified owner) –
Yep, what they said above, and more. Relatively cheap drinks for London but extremely good company. True, the raffle prizes are a bit, erm, unexciting, but here is the place to meet new and established talent – independent spirits making independent film.
Igor Ismail (verified owner) –
Very good event for filmmakers!thanks a lot!
Fatima Isse (verified owner) –
This was my first time attending a Raindance networking event, and it was an incredible experience. The event was well-organized, and I had the chance to meet and speak with many talented filmmakers. Thank you so much to the Raindance team for creating such an inspiring environment for filmmakers to connect.
nromain1 (verified owner) –
The monthly catchup was as good fun as always, always nice people around and the chance to meet some weird and wonderful film folks! Alex is a host with the most as always and the atmosphere is lively and gregarious. Always great value!
Francois Evans (verified owner) –
The Boozin’ & Schmoozin’ events are a delight to attend. Calmly marshalled by Denise Foley; skillfully hosted by actor Alex di Cuffa; with contagious, empyrean enthusiasm from movie monarch Elliot Grove. You’ll make friends. Many people have secured film work through this neat networking event. It’s good to have a forum to be able to engage with industry folk of different ages and stages. Thank you Raindance.
Stevie Kuca –
Thoroughly enjoyed the evening. Other attendees approach you and make you feel included. Will visit again! Thanks to the organizers.
Tobias Creed (verified owner) –
I attended the most recent event in May at the newer venue, One Ninetyfour, Picadilly in London. This was my first time attending the Boozin N Schmoozin networking mixer and I have to say it was better than I expected it to be actually. Yes it was a little loud at times, as some people have mentioned in the reviews – but that’s to be expected in a venue with a lot of people talking. I certainly didn’t find it too loud however and I was pleased with the numbers of people who attended, meaning there was always somebody to talk to and connect with. I liked the way the pitching was set up so that, literally, everybody could get up and have a go. That was nice and really allowed people to maximise their opportunity to promote themselves, their work and to get connected! I would go back.