Walsham le Willows

Cinema Club

A colour photograph across the top half showing a man sitting with his hand and finger extended to a young child. Below this is a thin strip of six small photographs across the poster and then below this is the word Creation in grey letters.

CREATION (PG) 108 mins:

Paul Bettany, Jennifer Connelly

What happens when a world-renowned scientist, crushed by the loss of his eldest daughter, formulates a theory in conflict with religious dogma? This is the story of Charles Darwin and his master-work "The Origin of Species". It tells of a global revolution played out in the confines of a small English village; a passionate marriage torn apart by the most dangerous idea in history; and a theory saved from extinction by the logic of a child.

Friday, 12th March 2010

At the Village Memorial Hall

Doors open 6.30. Starts 7.00pm. 108 mins.

FREE Admission..

Sweets, Popcorn, Hot Dogs, Wine & Soft Drinks.

In 2004 Walsham Community Council joined the Suffolk Digital Cinema Network with the intention of putting on cinema events in the Village Memorial Hall, consequently a group was formed to carry this project forward. In 2007 the club was successful in obtaining a £5,000 grant to purchase their own equipment, ie. a projector, a sound system and a large screen.

Over this time there have been highs and lows; the first film that was shown, Calender Girls, attracted an audience of over 120 and our children's films have regularly attracted audiences of over 40. Unfortunately the last two evening films had to be cancelled due to a lack of enough people to make the evening a viable event. Undoubtedly the winter weather had stopped many people from venturing out although 25 children managed to get through the snow to see the film, aptly named Ice Age 3

In order to show any film however there is always a cost and up until the present time (March 2010) this has meant paying for a commercial licence for each film, at a cost of over £110. To cover the cost of the licence it is essential to attract audiences of over 33 adults each paying an entrance fee of £3.50. The decision has now been made to apply for a new umbrella licence at an annual cost of £230 which allows the club to show a broad range of films to an audience of both children and adults providing that there is no charge for admission and that there is no advertising beyond our own community. This will obviously greatly reduce the outgoings and is especially great news for the audiences.

THIS MEANS A FREE NIGHT OUT FOR PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN!

Refreshments will continue to be on sale and there will be a raffle and possibly a "Donation Bucket".

It has also been decided to show just one film each month, from February to June, then September to November, alternating between a 'family' film at 6pm and an evening film at 7pm. The family film will replace the previous children's film at 5pm.

Choosing Films

The key to a successful film evening is obviously the choice of film, and as mentioned previously the group need views and ideas on what films to show. A recent example confirms the importance of the actual film selection. On Friday 13th of February 2009 the very popular film Mamma Mia was shown here in Walsham. This film showing attracted an audience of 100, a number only surpassed when the film Calendar Girls was shown early on in this project.

A photograph of the audience facing the blank screen. The hall is filling up.
Several young ladies dancing. Dancing!
A man adjusting the control box positioned on the wall whilst glancing down at instructions on a table top. Controlling the action!

Filmbank is the main film distributor and has a comprehensive list of available DVD’s, their website catalogues many films and you will find it very easy to browse, just go to www.filmbank.co.uk. Another useful website is www.bfi.org.uk which is the site of the British Film Institute that has a library of classic and foreign films.

If any other village organisations or individuals would like to have use of the cinema equipment for a film evening then please contact Alison Findlay on 01359 258822 and Alison will then book the equipment for these other dates, and if anyone would like to be more involved in the running of the group, from setting up the equipment to planning the calendar of films then you can also telephone Alison, or alternatively contact her by email on millcroft1@tiscali.co.uk.

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