Croydon’s favourite indie cinema reopened for the Autumn season this week, with (as always) some exciting screenings, events and collaborations planned (including a few celebs), plus a nomination for independent cinema of the year. We catch up with two of the David Lean Cinema team, chair, Sam Clark, and publicity manager, Lauren Furey to find out more.

Croydonist: You reopened this week after a bit of a summer refurb. What’s new and how will it affect your cinema-goers?

Sam: After three weeks’ closure to deal with essential maintenance in the cinema, we re-opened our doors on Tuesday (9 September). We have a brand-new screen! (Shout-out to the crew from Powell Cinema who came in last week for the installation). The picture quality is looking crisper and fresher than ever. We’ve also acquired a Dolby audio processor and mixer to deliver a new and improved audio experience for our loyal cinema-goers. A special mention must go to our dedicated Operations manager Roger Dowling who has overseen all the upgrades and maintenance to our beloved 68-seater cinema. The sound and picture quality will be better than ever – check out what’s coming up and book your ticket to experience it for yourself.

Croydonist: Tell us more about the independent cinema of the year awards, and what would it mean for you if you were shortlisted (or indeed won)?

Lauren: That’s right, we’re nominated for Cinema of the Year at this year’s British Independent Film Awards (BIFA). We’re a Community Interest Company (CIC), so everything we do goes back into cinema, and because we’re backed by an incredible and enthusiastic team of volunteers, we’re literally run by the community for the community. So, to be shortlisted in this year’s awards would really mean the world to us.

We offer something unique in Croydon. Yes, you can still enjoy your blockbusters like you would at the multiplexes, but there’s a whole range of incredible films on your doorstep, including world cinema, art house pictures, and even National Theatre Live productions. We’ve also taken you behind-the-scenes of some of the most memorable films in recent years with Q&As with actors, directors, and screenwriters, too.

We do what we do because we love great cinema, and we love being able to share that with our community. The best part about the Cinema of the Year award is that it’s voted for by the public. So if you love our little cinema as much as we do, or you just want to show some local pride, we’d really appreciate your vote.

Croydonist: You are one of the Croydonites festival venues this Autumn – tell us about the film you are screening?

Sam: We are delighted to be working in partnership with the Croydonites festival this October, which is something that we have been aiming to do for some time. The screening will be of salt: dispersed on Wednesday 15 October and will include a post screening discussion with a member of the company and Talawa CEO, Carolyn Forsyth. The story is a fascinating one. In February 2016, two artists got on a cargo ship and retraced one of the routes of the Transatlantic Slave Triangle – from the UK to Ghana to Jamaica, and back. Their memories, their questions and their grief took them along the bottom of the Atlantic and through the figurative realm of an imaginary past. It was a long journey backwards, in order to go forwards. This show is what they brought back. Salt toured from 2016 until 2020 and travelled to Brazil, Australia, Canada, USA and across the UK. Selina Thompson Ltd is an award-winning theatre company based in Birmingham.

Croydonist: What else are you particularly looking forward to in your Autumn season?

Lauren: Our AGM is on 22 September, from 6:30pm. It’s a great opportunity to go behind-the-scenes of the cinema. We’ll go over our financial report and you’ll also be informed about changes to our committee. We’re also hosting a fun film quiz afterwards. If you’d like to join us then please register your interest atagm@davidleancinema.org.uk.

We have some amazing screenings coming up, including more live theatre, but, personally, I’m quite looking forward to the Spinal Tap sequel. Rebooting older films can be a bit hit and miss, but the Naked Gun sequel worked and the trailer for Spinal Tap II looks promising.

Croydonist: And we have to ask – do you have any stars dropping by for Q&As?

Sam: Well, our patron – BAFTA award winning actress Joanna Scanlan – has been busy helping to publicise our David Lean Cinema tours as part of the programme of Open House events in Croydon. We are working with her on some surprise guests for our annual Christmas Quiz in December so watch our website for more on this shortly.  As well as this we plan to celebrate the life and work of Samuel Coleridge-Taylor with a documentary and accompanying musicians.  It really is an exciting time for the cinema and the programming team are working hard to fill the next few months with some more collaborations including events with East Croydon Cool and also with Croydon based film production company disauthority. Watch this space!

The David Lean Cinema resides in Croydon Clocktower, Katharine Street, Croydon, CR9 1ET. Keep up to date with their news and screenings on their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram. Vote for them in the Cinema of the Year at this year’s British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) here, by Monday 22 September.

Tickets are much more reasonable than chain cinemas, and are priced at £9.50 (Adults), £8.50 (Seniors aged 65 and over) with concessionary pricing at £5.00 for people in receipt of Pension Credit, Universal Credit, Employment Support Allowance (ESA), Personal Independence Payments (PIP), Income Support or Job Seekers allowance, disabled people, students and those aged 25 and under..

All images courtesy of David Lean Cinema (first and last by photographer Aneesa Dawoojee), except image 5 (courtesy of Croydonites and Selina Thompson Ltd)

Posted by Julia