The UK Cinema Association, the trade body representing UK cinema operators, has today launched Keep the Magic Alive, a high profile social media campaign aimed at persuading government to provide targeting funding for its members, many of whom are struggling to survive the challenges presented by COVID-19.
Actor and writer Stephen Fry has narrated the centrepiece to the campaign, a short film reminding viewers of the contribution that cinemas make both to individual and community well-being, and issuing a call for as many people as possible to contact their local MP to ask government to step in.
While many smaller venues have received funding through the BFI and the devolved administrations, the concern is not only that that may not be sufficient for them given the ongoing restrictions and lockdowns many face, but also that the largest operators - who account for some 80 per cent on the UK cinema market and in many ways provide the 'critical mass' for the sector - have so far received no targeted support over and above that offered to business in general. Watch the short at the link above.
