(credit: Iian Christie)
Woolton Picture House has raised more than £220,000 in its bid to renovate and re-open Liverpool’s oldest cinema.
The boost has come after its successful campaign, called ’12 days of Christmas’, where screenings of festive classics were shown to audiences in the somewhat derelict venue.
The event sold more than 7,000 tickets over 60 screenings and raised £60,000 towards the project, run by the Woolton Cinema CIC, who are aiming to raise £700,000 by April this year.
Iian Christie, one of the CIC’s board members, said: “It was overwhelmingly positive. Everyone was so happy to be back in the building, sharing all their memories of when they’d been there as kids or when they’d taken their kids there… it’s a really sort of tantalising glimpse of what the future could be for the picture house.”
If the fundraising is successful, the Woolton Picture House will be owned and run by the public, with community spirit making the Christmas events possible.
Iian said: “The other big thing is the volunteers. The only reason this could happen is because of the number of people who volunteered.
“Whether that was people who were volunteering to do the the cleaning of the building or taking tickets, or selling popcorn, or the volunteers behind the scenes, who were doing the fundraising stuff and the electricals and the plumbing, all these individuals and companies who gave their time.
“It was an incredibly rewarding experience for them and for us to see that many people wanting to get involved.”
The project still has a long way to go to hit its £700,000 target by April this year to cover the £450,000 to buy the building and £250,000 for the renovation.
Woolton Cinema CIC are calling for local business owners to help the project come to fruition.
Iian said: “We’re hoping that there are some businesses, there are some individuals out there in the local community who I’m sure have got the kind of money that can make such a big difference, and we’re really hoping that they came in at Christmas and they saw what it is and what it can be.”
The cinema is also looking at hosting more events to raise money, with Iian advising the public to keep an eye out over the next few weeks for an announcement around a possible Valentine’s Day-themed event in February.
Iian also praised the famous generosity of the people of Liverpool. He said: “People say about people from Liverpool all the time, they’ll give you the shirts off their backs to help.
“And I think there’s a real warmth to everyone who’s got involved and you get that on Merseyside, you get that in Liverpool where people kind of come together to help the community as a whole.”
Although the target is ambitious the team at Woolton Picture House remain hopeful that it is still possible.
Iian concluded: “We’re in the right place. We’re at the right time and we’re hoping to hit the big goal.”
Visit the Woolton Picture House website to donate.
Featured image: Iian Christie
