Ely cinema hopes 'pay what you can' scheme eases cost of living worries
It's hoped the idea will bring back more film lovers following Covid
An arts group hopes its new idea to tackle the cost of living crisis will bring more Cambridgeshire film lovers back to its cinema.
Babylon Arts in Ely are running a 'pay what you can' scheme for two movies a month until December with funding from the British Film Institute's Film Audience Network.
It’s part of a Film Finds supported screening trial over the summer and autumn at The Maltings, where people are encouraged to pay nothing, £5, £8, £10 or more for a ticket.
Michael Corley is the chief executive officer of Babylon Arts:
“We haven’t done it in the past in this cinema but we’ve been running the Film Finds programme, which is about us programming British, independent and foreign language films that are beyond the mainstream,” he said.
“What we want to do is to make sure everybody can take that opportunity to come to the cinema at The Maltings. People can pay zero or pay a fiver for a ticket.”
Babylon Arts, which has been running for around 28 years, is a charity and use donations to keep the cinema running.
The group has seen audience figures drop since the Covid pandemic, but by running schemes like this to help ease the cost of living crisis, more people could return to the big screen.
"The cultural offer is part of what makes Ely a great place"
“Some are bearing the brunt more than others,” he added.
“But this is one way of making sure that people can take part in the arts, people can come together with their community and experience great films.
“I think the brilliant cultural offer we have is part of what makes it a great place to live.
“The more we support it by coming to events like what we do and what other organisations do in the area, it makes sure we can sustain them through this tough time.”