We have developed a youth cinema at an underused community space that we are developing into a social enterprise run by young people.
Who we are
4 leaders and up to 60 participants bi-weekly.
Where we're based
Walworth, London
When we started
Jan-07
How we started
Young people attended a media and film course run by the youth centre InSpire, and were asked to think of creative ways to engage other young people in the community. We had the idea of developing the centre into a cinema space especially for young people, giving them the chance to develop business skills and enabling them to have ownership of the space.
Our work
We developed the business name, logo and publicity materials. We run our own budget, choose a programme of films, promote them (through shopping centres, open days, youth clubs, etc.), run the box office, tuck shop, and film projection. Every two weeks a film is screened - the launch was a Harry Potter double bill. In our meetings we assess the previous week's screening, order film titles and shop stock, and plan rotas and outreach.
Future plans
We want to ensure that the films reach capacity and cover costs, with a small wage for staff. We will be opening up the venue to other groups, including the elderly for afternoon sessions, and supporting local schools by screening films of GCSE texts.
Project website
http://www.philiplawrenceawards.net
We have given something to young people which allows them to be off the streets in a safe place when showing films. It has given us the chance to take on different roles such as looking at budgets, refreshment ordering, ticket sales and promotion.
Jade, co-founder of Picture Box
