New home for Stoke Film Theatre found

Stoke Film Theatre was set up in 1974

A regional independent cinema is set to move to a new venue in its 50th year after first opening at a university.

The director of Stoke Film Theatre, Grace Jordan, said it would be moving from its base at Staffordshire University to the Wade Centre in nearby Hartshill.

The cinema closed in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic and failed to reopen.

Talks had been ongoing over the future of the theatre, she explained.

"We've been talking to them [the university] for over three years," she said.

"Unfortunately we've been unable to come to an agreement to stay," she said.

"It's been devastating," she added. "The last three years has been very frustrating."

"We really would have liked to have stayed there, it was our home and everybody enjoyed it, but unfortunately we weren't able to come to an agreement so we've had to look for somewhere else."

Her late husband helped set up the theatre in 1974 with money from the British Film Institute and the university then Staffordshire Polytechnic.

The cinema was "desperate" to raise £150,000 in order to fit equipment and buy a new screen, she said.

"We would love to get it done in the next three months."

Staffordshire University said it had been talks over the use of facilities for "some time".

"We wish them well in their new home and look forward to working together with them on other projects in the future," a statement added.

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