With lockdown measures easing we are now poised for a return to my favourite place to be, the cinema.
While lockdown innovation has seen US style drive-in theatres popping up across Brum, only time will tell if these become a regular occurrence in the city. This month Millennium Point’s Giant Screen has re-opened with family-friendly Trolls: World Tour, the much-loved Sex in the City (The Movie) and Tarantino classic Pulp Fiction. More like an event and not your every-day cinema trip, tickets for each of the screenings includes treats appropriate to the audience like unlimited Prosecco for the Sex and the City fans.
While I couldn’t be more excited about getting back to visiting a local cinema, I can’t say I felt that way during much of the lockdown. Before I explain why, I need to preface by saying I LOVE movies. Every genre, old and new, subtitled or dubbed. My perfect day involves walking from one screening to another, only stopping to refill my popcorn. I was even fortunate enough once to appear on the silver screen, once upon a time in my youth but it has made me appreciate every aspect of the experience. Cinema is my home, so why haven’t I missed it more?
Over the years movie theatres have evolved from single screen theatres to multiplexes with moving chairs and indoor tornadoes. I enjoy so many of these enhancements, like ground-shaking sound and super-sized presentations in 3D, but these can come at a price both literally and figuratively. Often the experience that is offered to us is limited to Hollywood’s latest, not necessarily its greatest, and sadly value for money isn’t always guaranteed.
Even before lockdown many of us were using Video on Demand to bring the cinema to our homes. We could chose to watch a recent blockbuster, documentary, low budget gem or just enjoy a Hollywood classic instead. Sure it might take a bit of time for everyone to decide on the film but that would never be as long as the hours of adverts you usually have to sit through. Running your home theatre might avoid some of the failings of the cineplex, but what about the popcorn? The big audience and the excitement as light hits the giant screen?
The answer for me has always been Independent Cinema and in Birmingham we have been spoiled. The Midlands Art Centre’s David Baldwin has been programming an impressive eclectic mix of genre, never afraid to lean into a theme and schedules unmissable Q&A sessions with filmmakers. As a big fan of documentary, this is the venue where I have seen some of the most moving and eye-opening films and I look forward to its reopening in 2021.
As experiences go, walking into the Mockingbird Cinema in Digbeth reminds me of everything I loved about the ‘movie experience’ as a child and not just because they’re usually showing the films of my childhood (thought it helps). It’s because they have fun doing it, whether it’s a Harry Potter Marathon or the Batman Quadrilogy (where ticket prices for each film reduced in line with the quality of the Batman). When we get to Christmas this is the place that will most likely show my top three festive films of all time – Scrooged, Gremlins and oh yes Die Hard. Hopefully the doors will be open by the time school starts (though I hope sooner).
Community cinema has also been on the rise and there’s no better example than Screen B14 in King’s Heath. Presenting crowdpleasers like The Princess Bride, Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse and a sing-along Rocketman; this volunteer-led group offers a great cinema experience at affordable prices. Ideal for families and cinephiles alike as their screenings include plenty of genre and international films.
The absence of cinema these last few months has really reminded me what a joyful and communal experience it should be. That there are so many places in Birmingham who are intent on making it just that. So when our local cinemas open their doors I will be undoubtedly be there in the queue popcorn in hand, at a local independent movie theatre. I hope you will too.Â
