The Grand Picture House
Grand Picture House is a voluntary organisation, a new community interest company, with social aims to develop community participation in the cultural life of Downpatrick and surrounding villages with a particular focus on film and community cinema. Currently, our organisation has 15 members with a founding committee of 5 people. Our organisation is keen to revive the Grand Picture House Cinema in Downpatrick.
Our overall aim is to run a participatory cinema where the audience feels the ownership and confidence to create their own bespoke film culture. Through this programme we aim to develop a stronger understanding of film as an art form/means of communication and as a social experience. Part of that aim is to develop a programme which would provide a platform for the many genres of film that do not get the exposure they deserve, from multi-cultural cinema (non-English language film), documentaries, to experimental film, , films obscured by history and local filmmakers.
The beneficiaries of this project fall into two categories the participants in the volunteer group that runs the cinema, and audiences. Ultimately, they will all only benefit when a building is identified. Participants and audiences will benefit from access to their own film culture, which is currently scarcely available in regional cinemas. They will benefit from the confidence of being in charge of their programme, rather than just being on the receiving end of a programme delivered for them. They will benefit from social cohesion through having a shared resource in which to invest their time and energy collectively. From an educational point of view, audiences will benefit from increased media literacy, through seeing different cultures represented on screen, and having the relaxed environment to discuss films afterwards.
It is intended that a broader educational programme will be developed by volunteers, particularly in running practical courses for the community in film-making, photography, and other media, building confidence and skills in people. Participants and audiences will benefit from the social experience of cinema, through the act of
watching films together, but also the experience of organising the screenings and working together. Participants will benefit from on the job training. We will also seek training opportunities to further develop volunteers skills in working with hard to reach communities.
