Some good news for film fans in West Yorkshire – The National Science and Media Museum is opening a temporary screen in the Alhambra Studio Theatre space in Bradford. The Museum is currently closed for refurbishment and is due to re-open in July 2024. This has meant the temporary closure of the Cubby Broccoli and IMAX screens in the main museum building. The Museum’s main cinema, Pictureville in the ex-Library Theatre building, has also been closed because of the discovery of RAAC in the ceiling/roof of the auditorium resulting in the loss of three screens altogether. It is hoped that Pictureville too will be able to re-open in July. In the meantime, the pop-up will allow some parts of the usual programming to continue.
The Studio is a flexible space in the same building complex that houses the Alhambra and it does have a cinema connection as the space was adapted from part of the old Bradford Morley Street Picturehouse which opened in 1914. It first closed in 1956 before briefly showing films again as a South Asian cinema, the Majestic, named after the dance hall and then bingo club which ran between 1956 and 1970. In 1986 The Majestic building was taken over by the Alhambra and the space used for rehearsals and a small theatre. It was re-furbished in 2016. The entrance is on Great Horton Road and is approached on the pedestrian way between the Alhambra and the former Gaumont/Odeon which is currently being transformed into the Bradford Live music venue. The Studio has a space for 200 seats in a stadium formation plus a foyer area and a bar. The Pop-up cinema will run for the next five months although there may be previous bookings that will take precedence on occasions. Films will be presented using a cinema quality digital projector but not one that will use the DCPs (Digital Cinema Packages) supplied for new releases in cinema. Instead, films will be screened from Blu-ray discs or other digital media platforms. Last week’s preview screening of Billy Wilder’s Sabrina (US 1954) from Blu-ray looked and sounded very good.
You can find the Pictureville’s presentation of its new venture here. The programme will not feature new releases unless it proves possible to book a Blu-ray or similar print. Therefore the emphasis will be on film classics, cult films and film events. Initially this means further screenings as part of the Cinema Unbound: The Creative Worlds of Powell and Pressburger programme and screenings around Valentine’s Day entitled ‘Love Is’, Stage to Screen Musicals, Kids Club and ‘Rebel Women’. This last looks the most interesting for us as it features the critically acclaimed 2023 documentary Tish about the photographer Tisha Murtha. The same programme strand includes two further recent documentaries, Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché (UK 2021) and Sisters With Transistors (UK-France-US 2020). Film introductions and events around screenings are also being planned. Here’s the trailer for Tish:
The Studio pop-up cinema is ‘live’ from February 2nd so do come and try it out. Bradford is preparing for its City of Culture 2025 and the city is starting to buzz again so do investigate Pictureville at the Studio programme.
itp Global Film 