Films in the Hall

During 2007 the Village Hall Committee agreed to join the scheme organised by Stratford upon Avon District Council to show feature films in village halls throughout the district. The council bought sets of equipment – dvd players, projectors, large screens (width a little less than the village hall but not much) and speakers – and arranged the hire of dvd films and the system by which films and equipment are shared round the district.

We committed ourselves to using the system for three months, starting with Dream Girls in November and moving on to White Christmas in December. In January, on Wednesday 23rd, we will reach the end of this agreement by showing Atonement, a recent film release featuring James McAvoy and Keira Knightley which has met with critical acclaim.

Unfortunately attendances at the first two showings have been small, though those watching the films have said they enjoyed themselves. With a ticket price of £3 any attendance under twenty loses money for the hall, though the loss is small and sustainable – the film showing were never envisaged as a fund-raising exercise. However the work involved in collecting, installing and later dismantling the equipment is considerable and takes several hours for several committee members.

Because of this it is likely that, unless we get a considerable increase in the audience for Atonement on Wednesday 23rd, we will not take up the option of continuing showing films in February or March. After that it would become impossible to continue anyway because of the light evenings and the hall’s lack of blackout facilities.

George Adams

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Last modified: January 02, 2008