The Herald - The Herald Magazine
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DOES absence make the heart grow fonder – or, in the case of cinema, does it just mean relief at not forking out £20 for a ticket, a drink, a bucket of popcorn and a hotdog?
According to a survey undertaken on behalf of Cinema First, the industry body, it’s the first: turns out going to the flicks is the third mostmissed activity since lockdown was introduced. So as cinemas large and small open their doors again – and more of that in a minute – Cinema First has launched a campaign titled #LoveCinema. Helped by a montage of clips from some of the most famous films ever made, the aim, says Cinema First head Iain Jacob, is to “encourage audiences to return to the cinema to fall in love all over again with the unparalleled experience that only the big screen can deliver”.
Christopher Nolan’s highconcept thriller Tenet has been doing just that and putting bums on multiplex seats since its release earlier this week, but Scotland’s smaller arthouse and repertory cinemas are also welcoming cinemagoers back through their doors. The Glasgow Film Theatre re-launches on Monday and, yes, you can see Tenet there though there are other treats available too, such as Alice Winocour’s excellent Proxima and Make Up, the debut feature from young British director Claire Oakley.
Elsewhere Edinburgh’s Filmhouse and Aberdeen’s Belmont cinemas have plans to re-open in September but the screen located in Dundee Contemporary Arts has a full programme and the capital’s much-loved Cameo Cinema re-opened last Wednesday and is showing Shannon Murphy’s coming-of-age film Babyteeth alongside Proxima and Tenet. It’s like Covid-19 never happened. Almost.
BARRY DIDCOCK