A private launch for Ramsgate’s new community cinema took place last night (January 3) with guests including film and TV star Brenda Blethyn and film producer Hamish McAlpine.
The pop-up cinema is the creation of Kent Film Foundation and is based at the former Cats in Crisis shop in the High Street until the end of July. Work is underway for the cinema to then move to a larger, permanent location in the town.
The main ground floor area features a Ramsgate Town Council funded cinema screen and projector while upstairs is being converted into a green screen and studio for young people involved in film and media workshops.
Also taking space at the venue is the Ramsgate International Film Festival which will be holding events through the year.
Recycling was key for the transformation with almost everything that was stripped from the shop being repurposed for the cinema project.
At the launch, with guests including young people from Broadstairs College and wildlife expert Keith Ross- who have all been working with the foundation – a short film on the creation of the cinema was screened followed by award winning ‘A Bunch of Amateurs.’
Kent Film Foundation began as a not-for-profit arm of a film production company based in Thanet when a group of filmmakers attached a training element to a series of feature film shoots. This successfully fed talented young people through and into entry level film industry jobs, film school, universities and drama schools for those interested in careers in media.
One of the filmmakers, Jan Dunn, founded Kent Film Foundation with charitable status in 2010 in the hope of hiring professional filmmakers to mentor young people in film workshops that would be free to participants.
At the cinema preview yesterday Jan said as a child brought up in poverty her access to film had been through free clubs and Kent Film Foundation would continue this to make sure all young people had opportunities in the industry.
Kent Film Foundation’s youth workshops, most recently held at St Luke’s Church Hall, will be based at the new High Street location.
A programme of public screenings is due to be released shortly.
Visit the website at www.kentfilmfoundation.co.uk
