It is always special when we get to take a look at one of our member venues and we were lucky enough to visit Malvern Theatres, Cinema.
Our tour guides were Fred Moroni and Rachel Zakotti from the Programming team and Catherine Norris, Trusts and Creative Learning Coordinator who shew us around Malvern Theatres, Cinema.
Malvern Theatres is housed in the Winter Gardens complex in the town centre of Great Malvern, Worcestershire and has been a provincial centre for the arts since 1885. Read more about their heritage here
The cinema within Malvern Theatres has been standing through 100 years of time since its opening in 1923. We visited Malvern Cinema for their 100th year anniversary, where they hosted a festival "Malvern Cinema 100 Years" celebrating their centenary.
The programme of films was taken from each of its ten decades and included a selection of 26 iconic titles including; Clueless (1995), Daughters of the Dust (1991), King Kong (1993), Singing in the Rain (1952), The Wizard of Oz (1939) and much more.
Speaking to Catherine, Fred and Rachel about Malvern Cinema's community, they mentioned that they tend to attract largely rural audiences and that they feel a sense of responsibility to them, to share the best of independent cinema, showing titles from world-renowned film festivals such as Sundance, SXSW and TIFF.
"Regional participation is at the heart of what we do at Malvern Cinema. The geographical area we operate in is rural and the cinema is therefore vital as a hub for film engagement. Our consistent low ticket prices, concessions and special offers are aimed at reducing barriers for our audiences to stay connected"
Malvern Theatres is one of the projects Film Hub Midlands is supporting this year with Film Exhibition Funding. The support will aim to help enable the cinema to tell more diverse stories through its film programming, particularly in the second new screening space 'Studio One'.
Malvern Theatres hosted an opening day for their new Studio One renovation on the 15th of July, the renovated space was created as part of their own £2.25 Million project to rebuild the front of Malvern Theatres. Studio One allows Malvern Theatres to have a brand new space for workshops, and rehearsals and hosts a 100-seat auditorium for live performances and cinema screenings.
Speaking of the support from the Film Hub Midlands Film Exhibition Funding going towards the cinema, Catherine says;
"we want to create a legacy with this funding, work hard across programming and communications for Malvern Cinema to be known for its rich and diverse selection of film".
"After moving through pandemic recovery, we want to make a step-change and ensure Malvern Cinema's place on the film map but most vitally, in the hearts of film-lovers everywhere."
We're excited to continue supporting Malvern Cinema to flourish with their independent programme during this period of transformation and are honoured to have been able to celebrate this key milestone with them.