Lottery grant brings movies to village halls (From Tewkesbury Admag)

Lottery grant brings movies to village halls

11:40am Thursday 10th January 2013 in Tewkesbury By Tarik Al Rasheed

THE bright lights of Hollywood will be coming to the smaller rural corners of the Malvern Hills thanks to a grant of more than £40,000 to make movies more accessible to all.

The Big Lottery Fund’s Village SOS grant scheme has awarded £42,500 to help purchase movie equipment for use in village halls and community venues around the district.

The cash will help build on a successful community cinema pilot scheme initiated thanks to a £10,000 grant from Malvern Hills District Council.

Over the past 12 months this has seen more than 1,600 people enjoy films such as The Help and Best Exotic Marigold Hotel at 22 venues around the district, including halls in Ripple, Castlemorton and Upton-upon-Severn.

After securing the lottery funding it is now planned to launch an official ‘Rural Reels’ scheme, featuring nine local partners, in April.

The project will aim to ensure regular film screenings in local halls, with some venues having their own dedicated movie equipment and others sharing.

Councillor Phil Grove, responsible for community services at Malvern Hills District Council, said: “We are really pleased to hear that the Rural Reels project has been so successful in achieving funding from Village SOS, enabling them to continue with this project which will benefit so many local people.”

John Bennett, chairman of Ripple Parish Hall and the Rural Reels project, said: “The Rural Reels organisations are really pleased that they have raised £42,500 from Village SOS and look forward to launching the project in April.”

The organisations involved in the Rural Reels project are Castlemorton Cinema Club, Lower Broadheath Village Hall, Clifton-upon-Teme Village Hall, Arts@St Peter’s Church, Malvern, Uptonupon- Severn Town Council, Ripple Parish Hall, Eastham Memorial Hall, Grimley Peace Hall and Hanley Village Hall.