CINEMA IS BACK

The last film which I saw under proper cinema conditions was at the end of the Glasgow Film Festival 2020  on March 8 – Parts 4 and 5 of Mark Cousins’ masterwork Women Make Film – a new road movie through cinema

On Tuesday, July 29,  I attended with 8 others the press screening of :Unhinged – Russell Crowe’s road-rage revenge thriller, Unhinged which is the first major release to screen in theaters as coronavirus lockdown lifts slighty in the U.K.

I attended the Odeon Lux at Springfield Quay on Tuesday.  The UK Cinema Association has launched a campaign to explain the safeguards UK cinemas will have in place to help protect audiences as they start to open over the coming weeks and months.
With cinemas in England having been able to open from 4 July, those in Northern Ireland from 10 July and those in Scotland opening from July 15, the Association wants to offer everyone considering a return to the cinema reassurance on the steps that all venues will be taking to deliver a safer big screen experience.
The campaign is based around two ‘infomercials’ setting out the key measures to be taken. These will be used – alongside a host of other digital assets – on cinema and industry partner websites and social media channels, as well as on the big screen itself as sites re-open.
With a common script, both infomercials explain the range of social distancing, hygiene and other protective measures that will be taken, closely following the advice set out in the Government-approved safeguarding guidelines – Cinemas – keeping workers and customers safe during COVID-19 – published by the Association on 25 June.

I found the experience safe and with lots of hand hygiene facilities, spacing and signage and toilet facilities cleaned frequently. Although it will probably be a quieter experience in future it was great to see a film on the big screen again.  We were in Screen 4 and staff said that it can seat 45 but only about 20% of that can be booked in future.

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