February 24, 2016
Your very own Cinema Paradiso
They predicted the video and DVD rental market would kill off big screen cinema. But it survived and even thrived as cable, subscription channels and new players Netflix and Co. all entered the fray. They also predicted the multiplex would squash the small local cinema. But they got that wrong too. The impact of all this choice has just whetted our appetite for more. And that’s why I wouldn’t bet against this latest cinematic initiative – Grow Your Own Cinema – from moving the occasional pop-up screening to become a permanent feature of community life.
Into film? Like going to the movies? Ever considered putting on your own cinema night?
Grow Your Own Cinema is an exciting new project by Cinema For All and Voluntary Arts Scotland set up to encourage voluntary arts groups to put on their very own film events.
• Perhaps your group meets regularly in a town hall or school that has the potential to double up as a screening venue?
• Do you have a cinema in your local area but would like more say in what films you’d like to see?
Grow Your Own Cinema is here to help!
We’re inviting voluntary arts groups not currently directly involved with film or community cinema, to send us expressions of interest with a view to taking part in Grow Your Own Cinema over the course of 2016. You don’t need any previous experience of screening films as full, free training will be provided.
Please send your expression of interest to: Morvern Cunningham, by either emailing morvern@cinemaforall.org or in writing to Morvern Cunningham, c/o Voluntary Arts Scotland, Creative Exchange, Edinburgh, EH6 7BS, with the following details:
• Name of your voluntary group
• Brief description of your group’s activities
• Location of your group
• Contact name
• Contact number
• Why you’d like to participate in the Grow Your Own Cinema project and how your group or community could benefit (max 150 words)
If you are able, you could also include the following information:
• Nearest cinema to your location
• Potential screening venues at your location (e.g. town hall, school, etc)
Deadline for expressions of interest: Tuesday 1 March.
Please note: Grow Your Own Cinema is a Scotland-wide skills development programme. However, not all expressions of interest guarantee involvement in the project at this stage.
The project aims to develop film exhibition skills within voluntary arts groups not currently working with film in areas of low cinema provision, to enable them to form new film clubs and community cinemas around Scotland.
Grow Your Own Cinema is a 12-month project funded through Creative Scotland’s Screen Skills Fund and is delivered in partnership with Cinema For All and Voluntary Arts Scotland. Cinema For All (previously the British Federation of Film Societies) is the national support and development organisation for the community cinema sector in the UK. Voluntary Arts Scotland promotes participation in creative cultural activity across Scotland.