Cinema Closures

In one of my past blogs I mentioned how most of the hundreds of cinemas that were in use in Glasgow, during the 40's, are now closed. It is not only Glasgow that has seen cinema closures.

Back in my hometown of Oban we had a small, two screen, cinema run by a local businessman. The cineam was a great success and I spent many a night in the place! The cinema was known for being a 'first date' hotspot and was a great place for people to 'hang out.'

A couple years back the cinema was struggling to stay open, and due to financial difficulties it was closed. At first the town took no notice of the closure, it was deemed as unimportant as in the lead up to the closure not many people were visiting the place.

This feeling soon changed.

Oban is a lovely place to visit on holiday as there are plenty tourist activities to keep you amused. The story is a little different for the locals, young people especially. There is not many activities for young people to engage in, other than sports or a part-time job. This means that a lot of young people end up loitering the streets and that is when anti-social behaviour can occur.

The cinema lay empty up until a few months ago, a local comittee was set up in order to get the cinema running again. The deal granted to them by the bank was that they must raise at least £20,000 in order to secure the cinemas future as a community run facility.

http://www.obanphoenixcinema.co.uk/

The campaign to rais ethis money has been very successful and attracted local and national news coverage. There are also a number of high profile patrons on-board such as; Tilda Swinton, Dougray Scott, Dame Judy Dench, Rowan Atkinson, Robbie Coltrane and many more.

The Commitees 'Mission Statement.'

A community group of residents of and visitors to Oban who support the re-opening of the Oban cinema as a community led venture.
At present, the cinema on George Street is closed. The building itself is in the hands of the receiver who's plan is to auction it off to the highest bidder. UNLESS the community of Oban can come together with enough strength, will and MONEY to take it off the market! In 2010, the curtain went down on the "Highland Theatre" and since then, the town of Oban has been without a cinema. But in December 2010, when the community came together in a packed-out meeting, it was clear that there was still demand for a cinema here. Oban Phoenix Cinema was born!'

There have been a number of events held in order to help raise money; a 'Jamie at Home' tupperware party, a 'Bring-and-Buy' sale, music concert and an antiques evaluation day.

At present the group are still trying to raise the money needed, but from all the positive talk about the re-openeing it seems likely that the money will be raised in no time at all.

Good luck to them!