The quiet comeback of the neighbourhood cinema

For decades small cinemas closed one after another, squeezed by out-of-town multiplexes and then by streaming. Now, quietly, some are reopening, often in old buildings, often run by volunteers, and often busier than anyone expected.

We visited five of them to find out what they are doing differently.

What they have in common

• One screen and fewer than 150 seats, so a half-full room still feels lively.

• A bar or café that stays open when there is no film showing.

• Programmes that mix new releases with older films and local requests.

• Tickets that cost less than a takeaway meal.

People don’t come for the film. They come because it’s the only place in town where everyone faces the same way.

The hard part

Projection equipment is expensive and film distributors often demand long runs that a single screen cannot offer. Several of the cinemas we visited survive on memberships: a monthly fee that gives members cheaper tickets and a vote on what is shown.

None of them will make anyone rich. But on a wet Tuesday evening, with sixty people laughing at the same moment, they feel like one of the best ideas a small town can have.

How to start one

Every cinema we visited began with a single screening in a borrowed room: a village hall, a church, a pub function room. A projector, a screen, a licence for the film and a few dozen chairs were enough to test whether people would come.

The licence part surprises people. Showing a film to the public, even for free, needs permission from the distributor or a licensing body. It is not expensive for occasional screenings, and it keeps the film makers paid.

After that, the recipe seems to be patience and good snacks. Several of the cinemas said their monthly screenings took two years to become weekly ones, and a further two before they found a permanent home.