Gosport cinema outlines autumn programme
A POPULAR volunteer-run community cinema in Gosport has officially released their autumn series of film showings as they announced a series of measures to help boost audience numbers and revenue; which were set out in a press statement earlier this week.
The Ritz at St Vincent have released their new website and this is accessible to explore via https://theritzgosport.co.uk; the creators hoping to make it easier for film-lovers to find out what’s on during the coming weeks leading up to the Christmas period. cinema.
Highlights of the autumn 2024 programme include a screening of the 1966 film Batman in association with local business Vanguard Comics. The screening is due to take place this Thursday (September 19) from 7.30pm; where it will help mark Batman Day and a special guest appearance is planned.
A unique Halloween screening of the classic silent horror Nosferatu will be shown on Halloween (October 31) from 7:30pm; where it is set to be joined by a short talk on the film’s significance in cinema history. It is also scheduled to be accompanied by a live performance on the Compton Theatre organ; which is only one of only four surviving organs of its type and there is only one other currently being played in the public domain after dating from 1934.
In November the cinema will be showing The Searchers; a classic western firm starring John Wayne that is listed in the greatest of all time movies as part of the Sight and Sound magazine. This screening will take place on November 28 within St Vincent and it starts with a talk from local film lecturer, Rob Hind.
And finally the film Wonka, a 2023 family musical, will be screened on December 12 from 7.30pm and makes a perfect way to round off the season ahead of the festive period. The movie follows the historic success of Charlie & The Chocolate Factory; which is one of the country’s most watched productions and is based on a book from famous author Roald Dahl in 1964.
The cinema have further offered audience members to bring a friend as part of a “special autumn offer” in order to build their loyal followers. If it is their friend’s first visit to the cinema, they are both entitled to a free delicious Northney farm ice cream to enjoy with their film. This offer applies to all films shown at St Vincent and excludes the screening of Nosferatu at Thorngate Halls due to the different venue.
It is an offer that volunteers are hoping will make the cinema viable to run for the future due to a recent increase in costs; including renting the theatre at St Vincent and appropriate licencing for showing each of the films. Rob Hind is a local film lecturer who leads the volunteering teams in the cinema and he gave his thoughts on the autumn programme, as well as the special offer.
He said: “With increases in the cost of licensing films and a rise in the cost of renting the theatre, we need around 40 people to attend each film in order to break even. We’ve found it difficult to rebuild our audience back to the level that we had before the pandemic so we are running at a loss at the moment and we can’t sustain that forever. We have enough in the bank to see us through to Christmas but if we can attract larger audiences, we will be able to keep screening films into 2025 and beyond.”
“It’s always been really important for us to work with other community groups / organisations and we are really excited to be collaborating with two independent businesses this season – A Slice of Vinyl records and Vanguard Comics. A Slice of Vinyl is working with us to put on a screening of Back to Black, the Amy Winehouse biopic and Vanguard Comics is sponsoring our screening of the 1966 Batman film to mark Batman day in September. We are very much looking forward to welcoming some Batman cosplayers to the screening who will be taking a collection in aid of Harbour Cancer Support.”
He concluded by speaking about the showing of Nosferatu on October 31, saying: “This will be the fourth time we have worked with the Organ Club to screen a silent film with live accompaniment and they have always been very special evenings. It’s a rare privilege to see film in this way and our audiences have invariably been thrilled with the experience. The organ is one of only four surviving of its kind and it’s a real privilege to have an instrument of this calibre in the town”.
Readers can see the full autumn programme from The Ritz at St Vincent by visiting https://theritzgosport.co.uk/ or via their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/stvcinema; where they can also book tickets and sign up to the cinema’s newsletter.
PICTURED BY THE RITZ CINEMA: Movies are often shown at the theatre within St Vincent’s College, which can be found on Mill Road in Gosport.
