Cinema For All – the organisation that supports community cinema across the UK is holding the Film Society of the Year Awards on Saturday, 3 October in Sheffield.
The Tivoli Pop-Up Cinema is nominated in the Best Single Event category for its screenings in June as part of the Llandaff North Festival.
The original site of the Tivoli became a car showroom in 1961 and is now James & Jenkins Garage. As part of the Llandaff North Festival, local residents converted the showroom back to its original use and screened “The Night We Dropped a Clanger” – the last film shown at the Tivoli before it closed in 1959.
When organisers approached Mark James, of James & Jenkins, he immediately offered to move the cars out of the showroom – the old cinema hall – so people could enjoy the film in its original venue. “The building itself looks very different now, of course, but if you look carefully, you can still see one or two of the cinema’s features. When we took over the building the old projection room was upstairs, with the screen at the far end of what is now our large showroom. I’m pleased we could be part of the festival in such a significant way, and wish them the best of luck at the awards”
Festival organiser, Lewys Wootten said, “When we learned that the garage was the original site of the cinema we researched online and found that the last film shown there was a wartime comedy starring some great British talents – Brian Rix, Leslie Phillips, Hattie Jaques, Liz Fraser, and a young Andrew Sachs. It seemed the natural choice for our pop-up cinema and proved very popular. We have some photographs and plans of the original cinema and many people who came along told us their memories of the Tivoli.”
There was also a family matinee show of ‘Paddington’ on the Sunday afternoon of the festival. Both films were very well attended and the Tivoli Cinema has since screened films in a local school and a café.
“We want to see families from Llandaff North, as well as film fans from further afield, come along to support our pop-up cinema. We keep ticket prices as low as possible and we show films that people will find interesting. It’s a fantastic initiative, but it needs the support of local people. The award nomination is recognition of the work we’ve put in as volunteers, and the potential for community cinema in Llandaff North.”
The Llandaff North pop-up cinema is supported by Film Hub Wales and Cinema For All, to find our more and to follow their progress head to their facebook page
