Scene at the Pictures.

The small print

Privacy & cookies.

Last updated:

Scene at the Pictures is an independent personal cinema journal run by Carrie Lent, based in the United Kingdom. Carrie is responsible for the personal information handled for this project (the data controller).

The site has no newsletter, reader accounts, online shop or contact form. Optional audience analytics is described below. The site does not use advertising trackers, sell personal information, or add people who email to a marketing list.

Questions, corrections and privacy requests: hello@sceneatthepictures.com

Information used and why

For these activities, the legal basis is legitimate interests: operating and protecting a small independent website, answering correspondence, and researching and publishing relevant cinema writing. These interests must be balanced against the privacy and rights of the people concerned. Information needed to meet a legal requirement, such as dealing with a valid data protection request, is handled on the basis of that legal obligation.

Services used

Information is handled by the providers needed to run the site and its email:

These providers operate internationally, so information may be processed outside the UK, including in the United States and European Economic Area. Their linked terms describe the applicable safeguards: OpenAI’s published hosting DPA includes standard contractual clauses with the UK Addendum; Cloudflare and Microsoft describe the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and contractual safeguards; Sanity describes standard contractual clauses or other approved safeguards. Further details, including how to obtain copies of relevant safeguards, are available through those links or by contacting Carrie.

Information may also be disclosed where legally required or where necessary to deal with a legal claim. It is not shared with cinemas or other organisations for their marketing.

Cookies

Cookies are small pieces of information stored in a browser. The site uses necessary cookies for security and to remember privacy choices, and optional Google Analytics cookies only with consent.

Browser settings can remove or block cookies. Blocking security cookies may affect access to the site; blocking the choice cookie means the preference cannot be remembered. Refusing analytics does not prevent use of the journal.

Optional analytics

With permission, Google Analytics 4, delivered through Google Tag Manager, helps understand how people find and use the journal and improve it. This includes pages read, referral sources, browser and device information, approximate location, and interactions such as scrolling or following links to cinema websites. Cookie identifiers distinguish browsers and sessions. Names, email addresses and private correspondence are not deliberately sent. Google receives an IP address to handle the request and derive approximate location; Google says Analytics does not log or store individual IP addresses.

The legal basis for optional analytics is consent. Google Tag Manager and Analytics are blocked until analytics is accepted. Ignoring the banner or rejecting analytics keeps them off. Consent can be withdrawn at any time through Cookie settings. Withdrawing stops future collection and removes the Analytics cookies available to this site. It does not affect the lawfulness of earlier processing or automatically delete information already sent; privacy requests can be emailed to Carrie.

Google Analytics cookies — _ga and _ga_86G9MPRDFG distinguish browsers and sessions. This site requests a maximum lifetime of 180 days without extending it on each visit; browser rules may shorten that period. These cookies are optional and are used only after analytics is accepted.

Privacy-choice cookie — __Secure-satp-analytics remembers acceptance or rejection for 180 days. It records a choice, notice version and expiry, not a unique visitor identifier. It is necessary to respect that choice and is shared between sceneatthepictures.com and www.sceneatthepictures.com. After expiry or removal, the site asks again.

Google Analytics user-level and event-level data is kept for up to 14 months, depending on the property’s retention setting, before its scheduled deletion. Standard aggregated reports may remain available longer; this retention setting does not limit those reports. Cookies have the separate lifetimes described above.

Google provides Analytics and Tag Manager and processes the associated technical information. These services may process information outside the UK, including in the United States. See Google’s information about data collected from partner sites, including its privacy information and controls.

Google describes its safeguards for international transfers, including the UK Extension to the EU–US Data Privacy Framework and standard contractual clauses, in its data transfer frameworks information. The site does not use Analytics for advertising profiles or marketing audiences.

How long information is kept

Correspondence is kept while an enquiry and any reasonable follow-up are being handled. Site emails are reviewed at least annually and finished enquiries are deleted when no longer needed. Records of corrections, permissions or disputes may be kept for as long as they remain relevant to the published material or unresolved matter.

Published editorial information is kept while it remains relevant to the journal, subject to corrections and valid privacy requests. Technical and security records are retained according to the providers’ service policies and the time needed to operate the service, investigate faults or abuse, and meet legal obligations. Retention varies by provider; there is no single site-wide log-deletion period. Cookie lifetimes are described above.

Privacy rights

Depending on the circumstances, UK data protection law provides rights to access personal information, correct it, request its deletion or restrict its use. Requests can be sent to hello@sceneatthepictures.com. These rights are subject to legal conditions and exceptions; a response will explain any that apply.

Right to object: processing based on legitimate interests can be challenged on grounds relating to the person’s particular situation. Please email the contact address above to raise an objection.

The site does not use personal information for automated decisions that have legal or similarly significant effects.

Concerns can also be raised with the UK Information Commissioner’s Office: make a complaint to the ICO. Contacting Carrie first may help resolve the issue, but is not a condition of exercising this right.

Links and changes

Links to cinemas, ticket sellers, Instagram and other websites lead to independent services with their own privacy practices. Booking and payment take place on those websites, not here.

This notice will be updated when the site’s information handling changes. The date at the top identifies the latest revision.