Clare Collins, Chair of Wimbledon Film Club writes about the club and it’s brand new season!
Now that the tennis and other summer activities are over, we can turn our focus back to the arts! There will be a Short Film Festival, Wimbledon Bookfest and Music Festival to look forward to over the next couple of months.
And, of course, the return later this month of our local film society, Wimbledon Film Club, which hosts fortnightly screenings on Tuesday evenings at Curzon Cinema. Right now, we’re busy with preparations for our 2024/25 season launch. On Tuesday 17th September we are showing the sumptuous foodie period drama THE TASTE OF THINGS, starring Juliette Binoche, which was France’s entry to the Academy Awards.
The Club was established in 2005, so we turn twenty next year. In June, we were thrilled to be recognised at Cinema for All’s national Film Society of the Year 2024 Awards. We received four awards, including winning outright the prestigious Best Film Programme award. In previous years, we have also been recognised in the Community category: we regularly hold partnership screenings with other local community organisations, including with the Ukrainian Institute London, last season, and the Merton Centre for Independent Living. In the Film Discovery category, our programme gives the local community access to films from the UK and around the world, as well as to classic films, many of which members would not otherwise have the chance to see on the big screen. Furthermore, we’re proud to be able to offer post-screening Q&As with expert guest speakers, including film directors, producers, screenwriters, critics and historians.
But we are most proud that we give people of all ages and backgrounds the opportunity to come together with others and enjoy a movie on the big screen in a sociable, friendly setting. The chats in the lovely Curzon bar, before and after the screening, are for some as important as the film. This really hit home during the pandemic, when many people said the Club “helped them get through Covid.” During the first lockdown we ran an online film club, to make sure our audience still had access at home to the structure and feel of being part of a wider community. As soon as cinemas re-opened under strict social distancing rules (which reduced our audience capacity by two-thirds), we took the financial risk to re-open, to provide an enjoyable, safely-run community experience.
We are keen to continue to make the Club accessible to all in our community, so we recently cut our season membership fee to £30. Membership gives people access to cheap tickets for twenty screenings over September-July for themselves and two guests; priority booking; and the opportunity to be involved in choosing what films we show. We also have a £25 concession membership fee (for disabled people, those aged 66+, and Universal Credit or JSA recipients). For Under 30s and full-time students, membership is completely free. But whether you are regularly-attending members, or non-members who just want to see the odd film, everyone can be assured of a warm welcome at our screenings.
Find more details at https://wimbledonfilmclub.co.uk
See you at the cinema!
