What’s happening at Oban Phoenix Cinema

NOW that the Oscars are over and movie fans the world over will be either very pleased or very sad at the outcome, we here at Oban Phoenix thought we would give our own cinema-going community an update on what’s on and what’s coming up.

Our biggest film this month will be Disney’s eagerly anticipated Beauty and the Beast. A stellar cast headed up by Emma Watson and Dan Stevens means it is sure to be a family favourite. It carries a PG certificate and we are waiting to hear when we can put it on sale.

Each year we have a handful of films that we take on release and this will be one of them.

Also coming in March will be John Wick 2, Hidden Figures and Underworld Blood Wars. For information about these films and anything we are showing, visit our website, www.obanphoenix. com or our Facebook page Oban Phoenix Cinema.

One of the questions we are often asked is how we choose what we show. Our community and staff have quite diverse tastes, so from the beginning of the year we look at what’s coming out and discuss what we think will go down well.

Members of the community who regularly attend screenings will also inform us about films they would like to see. We try to accommodate as much as we can, taking big blockbusters alongside independent films and documentaries so that we get to see as many different types of films as possible.

Part of our remit is to support community projects and especially those which involve people who may find going to the cinema a difficult or expensive experience.

We are able to do this by showing high impact, big grossing films which allow us to support projects in the town, small film makers and group and school activities.

Our big plan this year is to double the size of the small screen to 44 and to re-arrange our concessions and ticket- selling facilities. Our toilets also need an overhaul. We are hoping to get some funding for this which is unusual as we are pretty much self- sustaining.

At present we are giving the seats a much-needed clean as several people have mentioned to us that they had become a bit grubby. Not so now!

We are happy to say the cinema has been forward for an award at the Scottish Rural Awards at Dynamic Earth on March 16.

Lastly, we would like to say a heartfelt thank you to everyone who supported us through the great boiler crisis. We are now toasty.

Thanks to all of you who donated, to Nick and Co for the installation and to everyone who visits the cinema.