Community cinema relaunch after fundraising drive

Tatenda Jamera said fundraising had been made possible by the community

A community cinema in Oswestry will launch on Saturday after the charity behind the project raised £38,000 to re-open.

The former Kinokulture cinema, now named Maona Cinema, closed in April 2024 when the people who had run it for 14 years, Ian Garland and Ruth Carter, retired.

Birmingham-based charity Maona Arts crowdfunded to pay for the restoration of the building, and will show two films on its opening weekend - Christy on Saturday and Golden Eye on Sunday.

"This weekend we're just trying to give people a feel about what we'll be offering," said Tatenda Jamera, director at Maona Arts.

"We'll have new releases, we'll have a little bit of blockbusters, but it'll be mostly new releases from the independent sector because that's where our core offering comes from… independent releases, independent filmmakers.

"It's like a normal independent, single-screen cinema and that's how we'll be operating."

He said the opening had been made possible thanks to the "goodwill of people".

"It's the community, we just managed to get money through community, word of mouth, the council, Vibrant Shropshire… a lot of people came on board to make sure this happened."

Oswestry Film Society, which has been involved with the process, said on Facebook: "There's been so much hard work going on, including cleaning and painting to building a new bar area, from electrical work to installing a new sound system."

The site will open officially for business on 30 October, and showings include a half-term special for young children.