Invisible Cinema // Ben Waddington

Sun 5th May // 10 30am // 90 mins

Meet: the Floozie in the Jacuzzi, Victoria Square B1 1BD

The rise and fall of the small cinema coincides very closely with the twentieth century, from the earliest experiments in projecting a moving image to the rise of the out-of-town multiplex. Most of the smaller theatres of one, two or three screens have either been demolished or have blended into the surrounding urban fabric. Invisible Cinema seeks out these vestigial traces in the spirit of an archaeological walking tour, looking closely at what remains of these buildings and how they have been adapted to their new purpose. The tour has now run in several cities and the various locations regularly yield surprises for people in the group, young and old. The purpose of the walk is not to deliver historical data, or to visit sites of architecture opulence but rather to become immersed in an atmosphere. The process of finding evidence of these former picture houses sharpens your seeing skills and your understanding of how the city’s culture is a force in constant motion. Invisible Cinema invites the audience to share their memories of distant (or even recent) cinema going days and to further their efforts to make visible the old cinemas in their part of town.

The experience can be bitter-sweet but forges a closer connection with the city and its history. Experienced as a group activity it becomes a fascinating moment of discovery, observation and reflection with exchanges moving in all directions.

• Comfortable footwear and weather-appropriate clothing essential.

• Accessible route

• Invisible Cinema first ran in 2011 for Flatpack Film Festiva5