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DISTRIBUTION / RELEASES / EXHIBITORS UK / Ireland

Modern Films attempts to rescue indie cinemas

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- The British distribution company’s initiative will involve 22 different venues, located across the UK and the Republic of Ireland

Modern Films attempts to rescue indie cinemas
The Perfect Candidate by Haifaa al-Mansour

In response to the closure of all UK and Irish cinemas and to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, British distribution outfit Modern Films has invited viewers who stream films through its official website to select an indie cinema as a point of purchase. The initiative, announced earlier this week, will involve 22 cinemas, and an undisclosed percentage of the profits will go directly to the selected venues.

The action opened with the release of Haifaa al-Mansour’s drama The Perfect Candidate [+see also:
film review
trailer
interview: Haifaa al-Mansour
film profile
]
, which was scheduled to receive a traditional theatrical release on 27 March.

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The independent theatres being rescued by Modern Films are ArtHouse Crouch End (London), Barbican (London), Barn Cinema (Totnes), Belmont Filmhouse (Aberdeen), Broadway Cinema (Nottingham), Chapter (Cardiff), Ciné Lumière (London), Derby QUAD (Derby), Filmhouse (Edinburgh), Forum Cinema (Northampton), Glasgow Film Theatre (Glasgow), HOME (Manchester), Hyde Park Picture House (Leeds), Irish Film Institute (Dublin), Phoenix (Leicester), Queen’s Film Theatre (Belfast), Regent Street Cinema (London), Rio Cinema (London), Saffron Screen (Saffron Walden), Showroom Workstation (Sheffield), Tyneside Cinema (Newcastle upon Tyne) and Wellington Orbit (Telford).

New titles will be added in the coming days. The initiative has been very well received, as managing director Eve Gabereau told Screen International that 94% of the transactions on the firm’s website over the weekend were for The Perfect Candidate, and 89% of viewers selected an independent cinema to support, the top five of which were Rio Cinema, Glasgow Film Theatre, Barn Cinema, HOME and Hyde Park Picture House.

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