The Frieze × ICA Film Programme Is Still Online—Here’s a Way Into It

You can still explore the 2026 Frieze × ICA Artists’ Film Programme without having attended Frieze week. The ICA’s official online programme lists worldwide streaming from October 12 through October 30. That leaves a useful window to try artists’ moving-image work on its own terms.

This is a programme guide based on the organisers’ published information, rather than a screening review. The suggestion is simple: choose one work, give it your attention, and leave time to think about how it was made.

Start with a manageable viewing commitment

You don’t need to begin by watching everything. The ICA’s listing spans different approaches and running times. Ali Kazma’s INKMAN runs 4 minutes 36 seconds; Nina Davies’s Image Syncers runs 11 minutes 51 seconds. The first offers a craft-focused entry point, while the second opens a conversation about synthetic imagery. Those are routes into the selection, not a ranking of the artists.

The programme describes Kazma’s film as following ink-stick production in Nara, Japan. Davies’s work is presented as a fictional scenario shaped by the relationship between bodies and synthetic images. Follow the linked programme for the full descriptions, credits and viewing access.

Give the first watch one job

Our recommendation is to notice where your attention goes before deciding what the film “means.” Does sound lead you into an image? Does repetition make a gesture feel different? Does a long shot ask you to wait for something that a faster edit would skip?

These are useful questions for creators working well beyond the gallery. A musician can think about how a soundtrack directs attention. An editor can consider what a cut makes you expect. A photographer can notice how movement changes the relationship between a subject and the frame.

Read the context without letting it do all the watching

After that first pass, return to the synopsis and credits. Notice whether the description makes you reconsider a choice you observed. Keep your response separate from the organiser’s account: “I noticed…” is different from claiming to know what the artist intended.

If you’re collecting references for your own work, record the artist, title, year and official link. Our reference-board guide explains why that context should travel with an image or idea.

Watch before the window closes

The ICA’s in-person programme page distinguishes its October 12–18 gallery run from online availability through October 30. Use the current online page for access details; don’t assume the films will remain available indefinitely. The programme page does not specify a closing hour.

For another route into the relationship between sound and moving images, explore our NFB shorts guide. Then bring one specific observation to the Le Cadre community: what did a film make possible that a still image or song alone might not?

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration for Le Cadre.