Moviola (cinema service)

Last updated

Moviola is a rural cinema service operating in the British West Country counties of Dorset, Devon, Hampshire, Somerset and Wiltshire. It provides a cinema service for rural communities that have no or distant access to cinema theatres, showing a range of films in village halls and other venues. It advertises itself as "The South and West's Rural Multiplex", and with 80 screening venues is one of the largest rural film schemes in Europe. It is a registered charity.

Contents

History

Moviola started operations in 2001, and after a few years of pilot operations it was first incorporated as "Dorset Film Touring" in February 2004. As "Dorset Film Touring" it was registered as United Kingdom Charity 1107649 in January 2005. In the summer of 2009, the Company and Charity officially adopted the name "Moviola". Moviola is governed by a small Board whose members have the dual functions of Trustees of the Charity and Directors of the Trading Company (Moviola Ltd). The Board members are recruited from the local community and from the film exhibition sector and serve in an entirely voluntary capacity. The Oscar-winning screenwriter and actor Julian Fellowes, who lives in Dorset, is Patron of Moviola.

The number of venues and attendances has increased greatly since the inception of the project in 2001, as shown in the following table:

YearNumber of showsAttendances
2001-2522,528
2002-3793,760
2003-41627,153
2004-522011,868
2005-639828,381
2006-763040,951
2007-866440,698
2008-972046,486












Organisation

Moviola shows films in 80 venues across the five counties. Its rural cinema service is made up of four elements:

Screenings

Moviola operates a partnership model: in each of the rural communities in which it operates, it has a partner group that chooses the films and the dates of the screenings, arranges the venue, organises local publicity and sells tickets. The partners also manage the show, determining aspects such as length of interval and start times. Moviola organises the booking of the films, maintains links with film distributors, provides marketing materials, tickets, all the equipment and the presenter for the show. This provision of suitable equipment is very important as many venues do not have high quality projection and sound equipment. A recent Daily Telegraph article about Moviola and other rural cinema screening services stated that "all [Moviola] needs to put on a show is a DVD of the film, a table and a 13-amp electric socket." [1]

Moviola was instrumental in breaking the cult film Morris: A Life with Bells On , by showing it when other mainstream distributors could not be found. [2]

Related Research Articles

Movie theater Venue, usually a building or integrated into a shopping mall, for viewing films

A movie theater, cinema, or cinema hall, also known as a picture house, the pictures, picture theatre or the movies, is a building that contains auditoria for viewing films for entertainment. Most, but not all, theaters are commercial operations catering to the general public, who attend by purchasing a ticket. Some movie theaters, however, are operated by non-profit organizations or societies that charge members a membership fee to view films.

Projectionist Person who operates a projector, usually a cinema projector

A projectionist is a person who operates a movie projector. In the strict sense of the term this means any film projector and therefore could include someone who operates the projector in a show. In common usage the term is generally understood to describe a paid employee of a movie theater. Projectionists are also known as "operators".

A film distributor is responsible for the marketing of a film. The distribution company is usually different from the production company. Distribution deals are an important part of financing a film.

Phoenix Cinema

The Phoenix Cinema is an independent single-screen community cinema in East Finchley, London, England. It was built in 1910 and opened in 1912 as the East Finchley Picturedrome. It is one of the oldest continuously-running cinemas in the UK and shows mainly art-house films.

Fantasia International Film Festival

Fantasia International Film Festival is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore genre film fans, and distributors, who take advantage of the eclectic line up to select domestic and international films for release across North America. By virtue of the reputation developed over the last 15 years, this festival has been described as perhaps the "most outstanding and largest genre film festival in North America".

South Western Ambulance Service

The South Western Ambulance Service NHS Foundation Trust (SWASFT) is the organisation responsible for providing ambulance services for the National Health Service (NHS) across South West England. It serves the council areas of Bath and North East Somerset, Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Council, Bristol, Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Gloucestershire, North Somerset, Plymouth, Isles of Scilly, Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, Torbay and Wiltshire. On 1 March 2011, SWASFT was the first ambulance service in the country to become a NHS foundation trust. On 1 February 2013, neighbouring Great Western Ambulance Service merged with the trust.

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service

Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service covering the county of Devon and the non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England. The service does not cover the unitary authorities of North Somerset and Bath and North East Somerset, which are covered by the Avon Fire and Rescue Service. It is the fifth largest fire and rescue service in the United Kingdom.

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service

Hampshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) is the statutory fire and rescue service for the county of Hampshire, on the south coast of England. The service's chief fire officer is Neil Odin.

Keighley Picture House

Keighley Picture House is a cinema located in Keighley, West Yorkshire, England.

Western National

Western National was a bus company operating in South West England from 1929 until the 1990s.

Southern National

Southern National was a bus company operating in South West England from 1929 until 1969, and again from 1983 until 1999.

The Screen Machine is a mobile cinema that operates across the Scottish Highlands and Islands, Western Isles, Argyll & Bute and North Ayrshire. It regularly visits more than 30 rural communities.

Wilts & Dorset British bus operator

Wilts & Dorset is a bus operator providing services in East Dorset, South Wiltshire, and West Hampshire. It operates services under the morebus brand around Bournemouth and Poole and under the Salisbury Reds brand around Salisbury and Amesbury. It is part of Go South Coast, a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group.

Scouting in South West England

Scouting in South West England is about Scouting in the official region of South West England. It is largely represented by the Scout Association of the United Kingdom and some Groups of traditional Scouting including the Baden-Powell Scouts' Association.

<i>Morris: A Life with Bells On</i> 2009 film by Lucy Akhurst

Morris: A Life with Bells On is a 2009 British independent film, a comic spoof documentary about morris dancing.

The Breeze was a network of Independent Local Radio stations broadcasting to Bristol, Hampshire, Isle of Wight, Somerset, North Dorset, North Gloucestershire, South Devon, South West Surrey, West Berkshire and West Wiltshire. The stations, owned & operated by Bauer Radio, broadcast a 'contemporary easy listening' format, playing classic and recent melodic popular music aimed principally at listeners over the age of 40.

Secret Cinema English entertainment company doing immersive events

Secret Cinema is a London-based entertainment company that specialises in immersive film and television events. Founded and created in 2007 by Fabien Riggall, it used to conduct screenings at initially undisclosed venues in London, including interactive performances in purpose-built sets. Now, with over 70 productions to date, the events have grown to large scale experiences where thousands of people a night spend up to 5 hours exploring the worlds, engaging with their favourite characters and becoming part of the story.

Amusu Theatre

Amusu Theatre is a heritage-listed cinema and theatre at 17 Derowie Street, Manildra, Cabonne Shire, New South Wales, Australia. It was designed by Allan Tom and built in 1936 by Jim Fullerton. It is also known as Amusu Cinema. The property is owned by Cabonne Council. It was added to the New South Wales State Heritage Register on 26 November 1999.

References

  1. James Vaughan (20 September 2008). "Bringing Hollywood to the Hebrides". The Daily Telegraph . Retrieved 2010-07-05.
  2. "Morris dancing in the movies". BBC. May 2009. Retrieved 2010-07-05.