SHOWROOM WORKSTATION

What’s your history?

The cinema opened in the early ’90s in a former 1930s Art Deco car showroom. A £1.5 million National Lottery grant enabled the owners to convert it into a 650-capacity, four-screen cinema. We also have the Workstation, essentially an artistic cultural hub.

What’s special about your cinema?

We have a proud history of supporting new, home-grown filmmakers. A special event we run yearly is the Sheffield Doc/fest — a big international documentary festival.

Share a memorable moment...

We showed Wanuri Kahiu’s Rafiki in 2019 and she came over to introduce it for us. We had the most amazing Q&A with her where she spoke about her groundbreaking film in the context of LGBTQ+ rights in her native Kenya, where it proved controversial. It was a magical night.

How does the community play a role?

We work with various community groups to curate specific events. We always programme a season of films around Black History Month, for example, and we work with the community who help select the films for this.

What’s been happening during lockdown?

We’ve had lots of online quiz events via our Youtube channel and we’re keeping in touch with our audience through social media and newsletters. They’ve supported us tirelessly.

What plans are you making for the future?

Archive re-releases proved incredibly popular when we re-opened, like Bong Joon-ho’s Memories Of Murder. We want to offer more in the future. We’ve just installed a new 4K digital-projector and we’ve upgraded the sound to Dolby 7. We can’t wait to put them through their paces!