Do the people of Hayle want a cinema again?
The answer is a resounding yes!
The travelling cinema, The Screen Machine, played to packed houses every show over the August Bank Holiday Weekend in Hayle. In fact, nearly every show was a sell-out, and tickets for family blockbuster Toy Story 3 could have sold tenfold.
It was a great attraction for visitors to the town: however, the majority of tickets were bought by the community. Hayle residents turned out in force, enjoying the experience of leaving the car at home and walking to the cinema – many for the first time in thirty years, some for the first time ever. Local MP George Eustice, and Hayle’s Mayor and Deputy Mayor came along to the premiere screening, as did Pirate FM’s Bob McCready, who has already shown the project a lot of support.
As well as the films, movie-goers enjoyed refreshments from local food providers (mmmmm, Mr B’s ice-cream….). The hand of the community was to be seen everywhere – the excellent short films shown before the main features, Hayle Town Band playing movie themes, the team working as bar staff and ushers… Even Buzz Lightyear had a Cornish accent!
With crowds of lovely locals milling about, drinking wine and eating popcorn, it was a great opportunity to find out more about what people would like to see in Hayle, and to update them on the Pioneerium project so far. Trustee and architect Bob Mims has created a marvellous model of what the cinema/social centre could look like; and talented local film-makers Ben Amos and Jack Reynolds directed a short film, Night and Day at the Pioneerium. Many thanks to all the audience members who participated in our evaluation questionnaire: we’ll publish the results on the website in the near future.
And, as for the films themselves… Well, who would have thought that a truck could be so comfortable? And that 3-D (Toy Story 3) really does make a huge difference? The amazing Ian came down from Scotland with the cinema, and acted as driver, projectionist, ticket man, and popcorn mopper-upper. The other films he showed were Inception, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and Nanny McPhee and the Big Bang – a good range of films to suit a wide audience.
When the cinema-on-wheels was packing up to return to the Highlands, a small, sad crowd gathered to watch its departure. The most frequently asked question (well, apart from “Do 3-D glasses make you dizzy?”), was “Do you think we really can have a cinema here again?” We didn’t have to make up the title quotation – several people told us this.
The community has spoken. Hayle wants its own cinema and venue again – and this is just the start…
great idea, poorly organised. who thought putting live music on next to the cinema was a good idea? the last 30 – 40 mins of the film i went to see was ruined – the music drowned out the soundtrack. i mentioned this to 3 different members of the organising team – none of them were interested. in fact, one of the responses was ‘never mind’!! appalling attitude to a very valid point. let’s hope that if we do get a cinema in hayle, customer service is taken seriously.