By Max Vigar
Ramsgate Community Cinema, a popular venue run by registered charity Kent Film Foundation (KFF), will be resuming its showings from April 29.
The cinema’s screenings are returning with continued funding from the British Film Institute (BFI). The film choices of the community cinema have been praised by the Independent Film Office for being a varied, high-quality programme, which includes both UK and international independent films and award-winning documentaries, alongside music and other events.
Ramsgate Community Cinema is an invaluable asset, having just hosted most of the film screenings for Ramsgate International Film & TV Festival, many of which were sell-out events. The venue also acted as the main hub for the festival’s filmmakers, organisers and audiences, allowing everything to run smoothly.
KFF has been championing the arts for the people of Thanet for 15 years, hosting offerings such as the monthly documentary club, sold-out music events, filmmaker Q&A screenings and networking for local freelancers. The cinema had a successful two years in a centrally located venue on Ramsgate High Street. This resulted in the Guardian praising KFF’s screening venue as one of the best community cinemas in the UK, out of 1,600. Unfortunately, KFF lost this venue in August 2025. It is currently operating out of a rented property at Paragon Works on Albert Street, near Waitrose.
KFF is hoping to access some of the Pride in Place funding allocated for Ramsgate to purchase a permanent home for the community cinema so that it can achieve its long-term goal of becoming a local arts hub.
The residents’ neighbourhood board is deciding how this money will be spent, and the charity is waiting to see whether it will receive a portion. KFF says it is grateful for the support of a huge number of Thanet’s community members, calling it ‘phenomenal’.
Kent Film Foundation’s founder Jan Dunn and the charity’s patron, award-winning actress Brenda Blethyn OBE, are recruiting many highly respected names from the film industry to support the Foundation’s campaign to open a fully functioning arts hub in Ramsgate town centre after a years-long struggle.
KFF has had multiple attempts at acquiring a building through public funders, however these attempts ultimately fell through due to property owners pulling out. The charity’s challenging journey reflects a wider issue in Ramsgate of limited property availability affecting local organisations. Due to the repeated difficulty of buying a dedicated property, public funding for the charity has deteriorated. This has brought KFF’s progress to a standstill. It is hoped the Pride in Place funding will allow the Foundation to settle into a long-term home.
The community cinema maintains longstanding partnerships to share the venue with organisations such as Ramsgate Festival of Sound, Ramsgate International Film Festival and Discovery Planet. These organisations, together with Ramsgate Community Cinema, could bring footfall to the town centre, benefitting local businesses.
Multiple creative organisations are also involved with KFF, including Shiftkey (a filmmaking company) and Violet Pictures, along with respected musicians whose work takes them beyond Ramsgate, but which have loyal followings in the town, like LSMD, and jazz artists Sabina Desir and Jessica Lauren.
Ramsgate Community Cinema’s screenings will resume with two special events, the first of which is in partnership with The Ramsgate Festival of Sound. This will be held at 6pm on Saturday 25th April.
Tickets for this event can be bought via: https://www.tickettailor.com/events/ramsgatethroughthesenses/2142807.
The second event, at 2pm on Sunday 26th April, is a documentary focused on the importance of treating climate change as a serious issue– called The National Emergency Briefing Film – followed by a showing of 16-year-old filmmaker Connor Carruthers’ Minster Marshes, a documentary showcasing the ecological importance of the marshes. The event will finish with a discussion with the filmmaker and a guests such as local environmentalist Becky Wing.
Regular screenings, which are every Wednesday and Friday, will resume with Ryan Coogler’s horror feature Sinners, showing on April 29.
Screenings
Friday 1st May Testament of Ann Lee
Wednesday 6th May Song Sung Blue
Friday 8th May The Choral
Wednesday 13th May If I Had Legs I’d Kick You
Friday 15th May Rental Family
Wednesday 20th May Sentimental Value
Friday 22nd May Hobson’s Choice
To buy tickets and find out more about events, visit https://kentfilmfoundation.co.uk/.
If they showed a classic movie of our time, Debby does dallas i may pop in
I don’t think you’d necessarily be disappointed Wevsky. I went to see The Piano Teacher at Ramsgate Community Cinema and left halfway through as it was too pornographic for me. I don’t mind that if people want to watch it, but personally I don’t want to watch hardcore porn scenes in a community setting without any forewarning.
ooh, how lovely!