Browse Sections

• Magazine 
• Food and drink

Cine club's the reel deal

Angela Kelly
7/ 5/2008

WHEN Andy Rafferty and Chris Dee had the idea of setting up their own local ‘cinema’ in Chorlton 18 months ago they weren’t planning to rival the huge multiplexes.

"That was never the intention – we just wanted to show films locally in an easily accessible place," said Andy.

Now their Chorlton Film Institute is a regular event in the heart of the district each month. And, finally, it is breaking even.

It all started when the two film fans – "Fans rather than film geeks," insisted Andy – and work colleagues discussed the possibility of opening a local cinema.

Andy, 44, a buying director, said: "We’d long been having those ‘wouldn’t it be great if’ type of discussions about this. We wanted to provide an eclectic mix of films, not rarefied – something like Cornerhouse."

Andy has a young family and found it difficult to regularly go to city centre cinemas. "It just took too much organising," he said.

He was living in Chorlton at the time and friendly with the then vicar of his local church, the Rev Hilary Barber at St Clement’s. "He was very keen to make it a community church and there were already things like a beer festival and yoga classes going on there, so he was very open to the idea of a cinema," added Andy.

He also offered them a couple of free uses of the lofty church to begin with, so at least the venue was sorted.

Then Andy and Chris, a 39-year-old IT director, had to arrange film hire: "You can’t just go along to Blockbuster Video and hire one to show, that’s illegal."

So, the duo ended up with Filmbank, an organisation which hires films at about £100 a time. Then, they sorted out the rental of audio-visual equipment with Chorlton firm Hollowsphere, and were ready to go.

The first film they showed was Francis Ford Coppola’s moody epic Rumble Fish, which proved just right for the dark confines of the church.

"Then we bullied all our friends into coming along, although we weren’t sure what to charge at the beginning and used to get people to pay on the way out, just covering expenses," said Andy.

Early hiccups in financial logistics eventually led them to charge £5 for the monthly film showings, to cover the necessary £200 which covered film and equipment hire and the cost of the church.

The people who came, mostly from Chorlton, gave positive feedback and seemed to enjoyed their visit. There just weren’t enough of them.

"We were losing £30 or £40 a time. We didn’t bother much at first, but it mounted up," said Andy. "We didn’t want to make a profit, though."

So, they emailed all their patrons asking for a helping hand, and this resulted in, among other offers, advertising expertise. Leaflets and an informative website followed, and the numbers picked up.

While St Clement’s, on the corner of High Lane, could never provide the opulence of the average modern cinema, it does have its charms. To watch the big screen, there are comfortable cushioned seats, and, although you can’t buy popcorn, nearby pub The Beech has become an informal ‘home’ for the film fans post-performance.

Showings are usually on the third Thursday of the month, at 8.30pm. The films cover a broad cross-section but are usually ones of which the average filmgoer has heard.

Next up on May 15, is Factory Girl, the Sienna Miller film about the life of Edie Sedgwick, artist Andy Warhol’s muse.

"We tend to show films that may not be on at mainstream cinemas for very long, often quality films. And people do seem to like them," stated Andy.

The audience now regularly numbers 40-60 and Andy admits they wouldn’t like more than 70 there anyway.

"It was all a bit tongue in cheek at first, even to calling ourselves Chorlton Film Institute when it was obviously just two blokes," laughed Andy. "We simply wanted to offer something that cinemas have lost – a bit of character – and, hopefully, we do that."

For information about Chorlton Film Institute visit www.chorltonfi.pbwiki.com or email Chris and Andy at largedoor1@hotmail.co.uk