Movies at Malmesbury
Movies@Malmesbury brings you the latest film releases with State of the Art, Digital Big Screen Presentation in the period setting of Malmesbury's 19th century hall/cinema
For film listings, please check this Facebook page, look out for our Movies@Malmesbury leaflets or contact the Events Manager at Malmesbury Town Hall by email: louise.arkley@malmesbury.gov.uk, or telephone 01666822143.
Tickets are available in advance or on the door at Malmesbury Town Hall
2pm matinee & 5:30pm screenings: Adult £4, Under 16 £3
8pm screenings: All tickets £6
Children under 8 years of age must be accompanied by a paying adult aged 18+
Licensed bar and refreshments available during the half hour prior to screening start times
The cinema has disabled access
If you cannot get to the cinema and do not have access to transport, please contact the Town Hall to see if Malmesbury Community Area Transport can help you
Movies@Malmesbury relies on volunteers to run Front of House, the projector, the bar area and to help with marketing and leaflet distribution etc. In return, they can watch the film being screened on the night they work for free! If you'd like to be a M@M volunteer and join our dedicated team, please get in touch - we'd love to hear from you!
The Rural Cinema Pilot scheme is delivered by a consortium led by South West Screen, and comprises Wiltshire Council, The Pound Arts Centre in Corsham, The Arc Theatre in Trowbridge, Wiltshire College, the South West Group of the BFFS (British Federation of Film Societies), Salisbury International Arts Festival, Melksham Town Council and Malmesbury Town Council.
Editorial, May 2012................
“It was about three years ago in 2009 when Malmesbury Council surveyed the young people of the area to find out what they felt was missing from the town,†Mr. Charles Vernon, one of the Councillors involved, told us when we interviewed him recently about the reâ€launch of the Town Hall Cinema, “and high on the list was a cinema so Councillor John Lawton then started looking for ways to deliver one.â€
In early 2010 John contacted South West Screen and was told of a new scheme called the Wiltshire and Test Valley Rural Cinema Pilot. A consortium called White Horse Pictures was formed to run the scheme in our area. This was to be one of three pilots intended to provide high quality digital cinema to country areas not well served by existing cinemas. Each would be funded by a £400,000 Lottery grant. “The Wiltshire scheme intended to use one projector which would tour up to 14 different venues,†Charles said, “but only three were found, Calne, Malmesbury and Melksham.â€
The first show was held here at the Town Hall in December of 2010. “However,†Charles informed us, “during the summer of 2011 the projector suffered a major breakdown and it was decided that it would no longer tour but be based solely in Melksham.†In fact Malmesbury were told that they could only continue in the scheme if they found another projector. The last film here was shown on the 19th December 2011.
“The announcement of pending closure, however, led to many offers of help from the local community,†Charles continued, “but more importantly from Dolby Europe, based in Royal Wootton Bassett.†It was Dolby who contacted the Town Council and found them a projector at a very low price as well as the electronic equipment for films and sound. A new screen was provided at no cost by Harkness Screens.
“Because of this we were able to persuade White Horse Pictures to purchase the modern state of the art projector and amplifiers,†said Charles. So, with Dolby’s help the cinema was reconfigured with the screen mounted behind the proscenium arch above the stage and Movies @ Malmesbury was reâ€launched in March of this year.
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