Nottingham's smallest cinema is set to reopen on Saturday, August 6 after being given a new lease of life as Mammoth, a Climate Change Cinema. The venue was formerly known as Screen 22 before it closed in 2015.
The cinema has had a long history in the city centre after it was opened as a cinema showing 'adult films' in the 1970s. It was featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for a few years for being the smallest cinema in the world as it only had 22 seats in the entire building.
Owner Patrick Hort has taken on the building with the motivation of maintaining and keeping the cinema alive. Although the cinema was in fantastic condition, the building was falling apart and needed a lot of work.
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"When it became Screen 22 and Amy Gathercole took it over, the condition on the lease meant that she was given a totally empty space. Before that, when it was The Screen Room, the screen was still where it is now and the audience still sat there but they back projected everything they showed on a 35mm projector. In order for the film to be the right way round, it had to be reflected off a bathroom mirror," he said.
"Amy had to reroof the cinema and she built the rake for the old seats that she managed to get somewhere. She then put in the digital projector and built the screen that contains the speakers then ran the place for private hire for five years. The Screen Room had a scheduled of films that you could go and see but I've heard stories of films screened on Christmas day and there were a number of proposals here too. It has a real history to it."
Patrick was already working in the cinema industry when he became aware of the cinema becoming available. He had joked that it would be cool to own a cinema but when he learned the whole building was available to buy, it became an actual idea to set up shop on Broad Street.
"We thought we could have our office here and have the cinema too. It would be really cool as we already work in the industry so we wanted to make sure we kept it as a cinema too. The previous owner had bought it as an investment property so there was lots that needed to be done to the place," he explained.
"The building was in a shocking state as there were leaks everywhere and no heating. The cinema bit was great but the fabric of the building was not. Anyone could have bought this and turned it into flats or a restaurant and then destroyed the cinema because it wouldn't have mattered to them. It's one of our motivations to save it as it's part of Nottingham's history."
The amount of work that needed to be done to the building along with the pandemic meant that it has taken five years to get to opening day. While lots of the cinema remains the same, the foyer has been turned into a space where there could be options for food at a later stage and the projection room is now office space. The upstairs space has been opened up so it can be used an exhibition, meeting space or community hub.
Patrick is determined to keep the space as a climate change cinema but is open to the idea of it being rented out. He does have stipulations that are put in place such as recycling and zero waste plastic that adhere to the ethos of the venue.
"I wanted it to have a community element and I've been concerned about the environment for a long time. I've made a lot of changes with my own life and business to make sure we aren't a big part of the problem. As climate change got more serious, I realised it was time to start wearing my heart on my sleeve and make this a cinema about climate change. It's a way to get the message out there that we need to do more than we are doing."
This Saturday, the cinema will take part in an Extinction Rebellion event which is scheduled to take place on Broad Street. It will show a series of films that people will be free to come and watch from 11 am until 1 pm. The event will be a non-disruptive one aimed at spreading education and awareness.
"On Saturday there is an XR event and we are putting on a few things at the cinema. I want to show films that inspire and motivate people who might be wondering what else they can do to help the environment. I see it as a hub for connecting people and ideas."
He added: "We want to paint a positive vision of the future instead of the doom and gloom that will happen if we don't change our ways. The idea is to bring resources together so you don't leave the film feeling depressed but you go away feeling inspired."
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