Independent Cinema for Everyone

• Plymouth Arts Cinema among 925 recipients to benefit from the latest round of awards from the Culture Recovery Fund.

• This award will help Plymouth Arts Cinema to continue to deliver its rich programme of films.

More than £100 million has been awarded to hundreds of cultural organisations across the country including Plymouth Arts Cinema in the latest round of support from the Culture Recovery Fund, the Culture Secretary announced today.

Plymouth Arts Cinema has been awarded a grant of £4,797 by the British Film Institute.

The third round of funding will support organisations from all corners of the sector as they deal with ongoing reopening challenges, ensuring they can thrive in better times ahead.

Plymouth Arts Cinema is Plymouth’s only independent cinema and has an established history in the city since 1947, screening the best in new independent cinema from all around the world, classic cinema, and festivals, events, and special guests from the film industry.

Culture Secretary Nadine Dorries said:

“Culture is for everyone and should therefore be accessible to everyone, no matter who they are and where they’re from.

“Through unprecedented government financial support, the Culture Recovery Fund is supporting arts and cultural organisations so they can continue to bring culture to communities the length and breadth of the country, supporting jobs, boosting local economies and inspiring people.”

Over £1.2 billion has already been awarded from the unprecedented Culture Recovery Fund, supporting around 5000 individual organisations and sites across the country ranging from local museums to West End theatres, grassroots music venues to festivals, and organisations in the cultural and heritage supply-chains.

Anna Navas, Director and Film Programmer at Plymouth Arts Cinema, said:

Plymouth Arts Cinema is a long established beacon for culture in Plymouth, and now we can envisage a future, thanks to the Culture Recovery Fund. The whole team is incredibly relieved and grateful for this investment, and pleased that independent cinemas have been recognised by the UK government as cultural lifelines for the communities that we serve. Watching films has been an important way for people to get through lockdown, but after such a difficult and uncertain year, there is nothing like the sense of occasion, communality, and boost to mental wellbeing that is gained from coming together to escape into a story on the big screen. The new funding will help us to continue the work that we do”

Ben Roberts, Chief Executive, BFI said:

“Traditionally, this time of year brings a wealth of culture to the big screen for people up and down the country as local cinemas offer seasonal classics, and new British films and blockbusters. The Culture Recovery Fund has been vital to the survival and recovery of independent cinemas, enabling them to contribute to their high streets and communities, and crucially be there to welcome back their audiences.”