ABOUT US

Cinetopia is dedicated to producing events and spaces where people can be inspired and engaged in film and filmmaking through our various public-facing offerings such as film screenings, workshops, masterclasses and networking events. From Cinescapes, our outdoor film festival and event strand, to our monthly radio show and podcast on EHFM, all of our programmes are designed to foster a conversation around film.

WHAT WE DO

  • An image of people sitting in circuilar room with purple lighting. They are looking at some screen that is transparent which says A fil,m by maya deren and alexander hamid 9Hollywood 1943). This photo was taken by Lesley Martin

    EVENTS

    We run various events for both the public and local film industry professionals. We host cinema nights in Edinburgh and beyond specialising in pop-up and outdoor events, monthly networking evenings, masterclasses, and a documentary cineclub.

    Join Us
  • An image of an older man with a wool hat and a moustache is projected onto the wall of an old building in Leith. Image by Ryan Buchanan

    CINETOPIA PRODUCTIONS

    We produce films and media content with varied distribution strategies in mind. From site-specific projection installations to documentary films and film/video/media content created for clients, this is the production arm of our business.

    Learn More

  • OUTDOOR CINEMA

    Cinetopia has a wealth of expertise bringing cinema and moving image to outdoor spaces.

    Find out more
  • An image of a woman sitting on a dock with her back to us in a red swimsuit in front a lake and wilderness across the lake. To the right of this image is a red block with the title "Black Bear" and the cinetopia logo.

    CINETOPIA RADIO SHOW & PODCAST

    Since 2018, we have run a monthly podcast and radio show on Edinburgh local station EHFM. The show covers new releases and interviews filmmakers and industry professionals as well as covers notable UK and European film festivals.

    Listen
  • This is an image of the logo Cinetopia connect which is over a red to pink gradient.

    CINETOPIA CONNECT

    Cinetopia has built an online hub for the local film community. Cinetopia Connect is a platform designed to help the UK film community network online.

    Sign up
  • A black tote bag that says "Cinema" on it in white

    CINETOPIA SHOP

    We make handmade merchandise that is inspired by our love of film. We also work with local designers and artists to make film related merchandise specific for our events.

    Shop
  • An image from Agnes Varda's Daguerotypes film which features two people, one man and one woman wearing blue uniform and posting in front of a lot of raw meat that has prices on it. There is meat hanging behind the two as well.

    BLOG

    We run an ongoing blog to correspond to our event actvity as well as cover important local and international industry news and interview notable industry professionals.

    Read

The Cinetopia Team

Meet the core production and marketing team who works on various parts of Cinetopia to make our programmes and events come to life.

A black and white portrait of a smiling woman with shoulder-length hair, wearing a scarf.


  • Director & Producer

    Amanda has been a documentary filmmaker, creative producer, videographer, and editor for almost two decades. Originally from the USA, she has worked on non-profit, educational, and historical documentary films and creative projects with organisations such as Carnegie Hall, the United Nations, Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Scottish Council on Archives, and Edinburgh’s Hogmanay. First working in NYC, Amanda moved to Edinburgh to complete her MSc in Film, Exhibition, and Curation at the University of Edinburgh in 2017 and continues to work on films as well as runs film events through Cinetopia. In 2020, Amanda created Cinescapes, an outdoor touring film festival across Scotland showing and celebrating Scottish films in the locations in which they were inspired and remains Director of the Cinescapes Festival. Amanda oversees the production of all Cinetopia activity.

Black and white portrait of a woman with short wavy hair wearing large hoop earrings and a dark top, smiling at the camera.


  • Freelance Marketing Manager

    Emma is a freelancer marketing and social media consultant specialising in film, creative arts and hospitality. After a 10 year career working both client-side and in-agency across a variety of sectors, Emma now helps businesses grow their brand and drive awareness through story-telling. On the side, Emma runs Dolly Shots, an Etsy store selling movie-themed greeting cards, prints and stickers.

Black-and-white close-up photo of a woman with long hair, wearing glasses and smiling. She is wearing a top with embroidered details near the shoulder.


  • Curator and Associate Producer

    Amaya Bañuelos Marco is an educator, curator, and events manager with over 9 years’ experience working in various educational settings as well as in the film exhibition sector. Amaya has contributed to the programming teams of several UK film festivals including BFI London Film Festival, Take One Action Film Festival, and Sheffield Doc/Fest. Her recent curatorial work includes Changing Flows, a programme of short films exploring the theme of menstruation from a global perspective and the online documentary programme Cinetopia: DOC – Love your Local. She has also collaborated with Cinetopia in Cinescapes – Redrawing Edinburgh and I Ken Whaur I’m Gaun (I Know Where I’m Going) assisting in archival research and screening licences.

Black and white photo of a man smiling, wearing a lanyard, at a festival or event with various logos and text in the background.


  • Cinetopia Show Co-Producer

    Jim is the co-producer of the Cinetopia podcast and EHFM radio show, a freelance film critic, and Editor-in-Chief of TAKEONECinema.net, which has covered festival and independent cinema since 2011. He has served on the Cambridge Film Festival submissions panel and is a former Deputy Director of the Cambridge African Film Festival. Beyond TAKE ONE he has written about film for a number of publications and websites including Little White Lies and hosted a fortnightly radio show on Cambridge 105FM from 2011-2013

A man with glasses and a beard smiling with arms crossed, wearing a checkered shirt, standing in front of a white background, with a professional camera hanging around his neck.


  • Lead Technical Advisor & Head of Production, USA

    Steve started his career as a local tv cameraman and radio producer and quickly moved into all aspects of production, including live broadcast directing, editing, engineering, scripting, and sound recording and design. He has enjoyed more than 30 years crafting communications for a mix of broadcast, corporate, and non-profit institutions; from a Fortune 10 financial services company to non-profit arts and higher-education institutions in Atlanta, Chicago, New York City, New Jersey, and the UK - with local, nationwide, and global reach.

A black-and-white photo of a young man with dark hair, a goatee, and mustache, wearing a plaid shirt, outdoors with a wooden fence and trees in the background.


  • Associate Producer, Cinescapes

    Scott Blair is a film exhibition practitioner from Scottish Borders. Living in Edinburgh since 2015, he has been working with a number of groups and organisations such as Alchemy Film & Arts, Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Glasgow Film Festival. He has been supporting Cinetopia and their Cinescapes outdoor screenings since 2021.

Black and white photo of a woman with wavy hair smiling and wearing a striped shirt.


  • Publicist

    Claire Smith is the publicist for Cinescapes Festival and Cinetopia. She is an Edinburgh based publicist specialising in the arts. She has written for UK national newspapers on the arts, travel and current affairs and is the Edinburgh Editor of the Entertainment Now website.

Electric Muses 2022 - Photo by Lesley Martin - an image of Maya Deren from Meshes of the Afternoon is projected onto a transparent screen. Underneath is a female musician underneath the screen with a harp looking up at it.
Networking Nights 2018 - Photo by Luka Vukos - black and white image of people in a room networking
Cinema on the Shore - Photo by Emma Jamieson - Image of colourful deck chairs empty and in front of a LED screen which says "Cinema on the Shore"
Cinescapes event - photo by Emma Jamieson - people sitting in colourful deck chairs outside
Cinescapes in Leith - Trainspotting - Photo by Lesley Martin - 4 people sitting at a picnic table in front of an LED cinema screen and colourful deck chairs. the group is holding orange coloured beer cans with Trainspotting and Leith Juice on them
Cinescapes in Oban - a drone shot from McCaig's tower above the town of Oban all lit up at night. In the tower is lit screen and a bunch of audience members watching the screen.