LOCAL HERO

Each month, Empire puts a much-loved indie picture house in the spotlight

THE CAPITOL

THECAPITOLHORSHAM.COM

Operations Manager Matthew Effemy on the magic of the cinema in Horsham, West Sussex

What’s your cinema’s history?

The Capitol was built in just six months, opening in 1936 as The Ritz. The owners wanted to beat the opening of a nearby Odeon — they succeeded by four months!

What’s special about your cinema?

It’s housed in a stunning building. A refurbishment in 2003 was sympathetic to its Art Deco appearance: it still has everything from the terrazzo tile flooring to its proscenium arch. We now have three screens, including one 420-seater which doubles as a theatre.

Share a memorable moment.

We are lucky enough to have a trained, in-house technician who can operate a 35mm projector. As part of a recent Spooktober event, we showed American Psycho on 35mm. Audiences loved the nostalgia of seeing it the way it was designed to be seen.

How does the community play a role?

We run a lot of community-based screenings, like ones for dementia sufferers. We adapt the cinema with dimmed lights, lower volumes and timely intervals.

How have you fared during the pandemic?

Our memberships are still ticking over thanks to our loyal fanbase. We’ve run a campaign called Love The Capitol and cinemagoers sent video messages of support — we even had ones from Dame Judi Dench and Julie Walters, which meant so much to us.

What are you most looking forward to?

We’re keeping hopeful despite these difficult times and are planning ahead, trying to expand the programme. We’d love to host more Q&A events with directors: our audience would love to attend some of these.