Truth be told, I find awards season quite exhausting. It goes on for far too long, the discourse gets insufferable, and the credits haven’t even rolled on the Oscars before pundits are already speculating what next year’s contenders will be. All while I’m still recovering from the fact that Emilia Pérez exists. However, this time round, the British Independent Film Awards introduced a category that was right up my alley; the Cinema of the Year award, intended as a celebration of the UK’s independent cinemas. At a time where independent cinemas are struggling across the UK, I thought this was a fantastic idea to boost their profiles and allow them to get the love they truly deserve!
Cinemas were invited to put themselves forward for consideration, and there were some surprising venues that opted not to. Notably, two of my personal favourite cinemas – the Hyde Park Picture House and the Cottage Road Cinema, both in Leeds – were nowhere to be seen. Vue and Cineworld also decided to join the fray, submitting one and three of their venues respectively, and I think Mr. Potato Head said it best; who invited those kids? Yes, it’s true that some of their cinemas do show lots of independent films, although I think Cineworld chose their submissions by throwing darts at a map rather than actually taking that into consideration. Nevertheless, I thought their inclusion was the antithesis of what the award represents. They already make up a considerable portion of the UK’s cinemas, so to butt into an award designed to shine a spotlight on independents when they need it most was a bit rude of them, frankly.
All told, roughly 130 cinemas threw their hats into the ring. There was an enormous range of venues up for consideration, from indie cinema titans (Prince Charles, GFT, Tyneside) to hidden gems (eg Kavanagh and Palace, two lovely little venues on the Kent coast) to some that don’t even have a fixed home (C Fylm in Cornwall). And you can’t have a film-related award without some why-the-fucks. Cineworld’s decision to throw in their Hounslow venue was certainly a choice, since independent films almost never show there outside of previews for Unlimited members. Probably the most baffling inclusion was the Bertha DocHouse – the screen at Curzon Bloomsbury dedicated to documentary film – submitted as its own venue, while the rest of the cinema wasn’t submitted at all. God only knows what was going through their minds.
Eventually, we had our final five: the Montrose Playhouse, Bristol’s Watershed, Lewes’ Depot Cinema, Belfast’s Queens Film Theatre, and Tywyn’s Magic Lantern. You will have noticed that none of those cinemas are in London, and honestly I’m as surprised as you are. I’d have assumed that at least the PCC would be a shoo-in for the final five, in the year where its very existence was threatened by its greedy landlord. To be perfectly honest, though, I kinda liked that there weren’t any London cinemas in that line-up. Don’t get me wrong, London has some absolutely phenomenal cinemas. But contrary to what a lot of people in this industry seem to believe, there’s more to the UK’s cinematic landscape beyond it, and the final five are a perfect representation of that diversity. Not only do they literally represent all of the UK’s nations, they represent all different eras of cinemagoing, some of them are the only cinema for miles around, and they make independent cinema accessible for all, as it should be.
The Magic Lantern ended up being the winner, and what a worthy winner it was. The community found out in the cinema itself through their staff watching social media like hawks; the moment they found out was captured on video, and watching it genuinely made me quite emotional! The almost deafening roar from that crowd tells you everything you need to know about how much this cinema means to its community. These places are so much more than just somewhere to watch a movie. They’re places where people can be brought together, places they can pour their heart into, where lifelong memories can be made. And I hope they continue to thrive for many years to come.
