The team at The Palace Cinema in Broadstairs have undertaken dementia awareness training and launch dementia-friendly screenings.
A local institution built on shared armchairs and shared stories, the cinema wanted to make sure a dementia diagnosis was never a reason for someone to stop coming. That ambition has now taken a concrete step forward, with its team becoming dementia aware with help from staff at Chartwell House in Broadstairs.
Corinna Downing, of The Palace Cinema, said: “It was such a valuable and useful experience for all of us, and their delivery really made it what it was, made us really reflect on dementia and what the screenings at the Palace can be.”
The session was hosted last month by Jaye Hurst, Admissions Manager at Chartwell House.
Jaye swapped her usual seat behind the admissions desk for one in front of six Palace Cinema staff, talking them through what dementia is and how to support someone living with it.
The session followed the Dementia Friends programme, an Alzheimer’s Society initiative built to help people understand dementia and change the way they think, talk and act about it, so they can better support those living with it.
Jaye said: “I wanted to deliver this session myself because trust is built in the small, everyday moments, not just in a care plan.
“When a family is looking for a care home, what they’re really asking is whether their loved one can still go and do ordinary things: see a film, have a coffee out, feel part of the town they’ve always known. Helping a cinema team understand dementia means Broadstairs itself becomes a bit more open to the people who live with it, not just Chartwell House.”
The next day, that new format was already in action. Chartwell House residents joined the Palace Cinema and Chartwell teams for the cinema’s dementia-friendly screening of the 1955 classic “The Seven Year Itch”, settling in with popcorn and drinks for a film that brought memories flooding back for some of the attendees.
After the film, everyone stayed on for a reminiscence session, swapping thoughts on the movie and the memories it had stirred.
That choice of film was no accident. Guides from the BFI Film Audience Network and Inclusive Cinema note that dementia-friendly screenings of classic films can promote mental activity and stimulation, and act as a valuable tool for reminiscence. Even when short-term memory is affected, a well-loved old film can surface memories that have stayed intact for decades, giving people something to hold on to and talk over together.
Taryn, Head of Lifestyle and Wellbeing at Chartwell House, said: “You could see it on their faces the moment the film started, that spark of recognition.
“But it was the conversation afterward that stayed with me. Residents were finishing each other’s sentences about scenes they remembered from years ago. That’s what good wellbeing support looks like: not just an outing, but something that gives people a reason to connect with each other.”
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