CINEMA For All is leading a festival marking a century of community cinemas, including Catbrook community hall.

IN 1925, a pioneering group of cultural visionaries, including filmmakers Ivor Montagu and Anthony Asquith, exhibitor Sidney Bernstein, film critic Iris Barry, artist Augustus John, and economist John Maynard Keynes established The Film Society in London.

Their goal was to create a space where artistically significant films, often overlooked by commercial cinemas, could be celebrated and shared with the public.

Exactly a year today, October 25, 1925, The Film Society held its inaugural screening at London’s New Gallery Cinema, a showcasing Paul Leni’s German silent anthology Waxworks and Charlie Chaplin’s Champion Charlie. This historic event laid the foundation for a vibrant grassroots movement that continues to thrive today.

A century later, the UK is home to over 1,600 community screens, from major arts venues to pop-up cinemas in village halls and even garden sheds- uniting films and audiences in every corner of the country one of the community cinemas is at Catbrook village hall in Chepstow who have been showing films their for over 15 years.

“There is no doubt that the community cinema in Catbrook is a joyous shared occasion, said Richard Cobourne, a spokesperson from Catbrook Village Hall.

This diverse, inclusive, and creative movement plays a vital role in the cultural life of communities of all kinds.

To celebrate this centenary, Cinema For All, the national support organisation for volunteer-led community cinemas, is leading a nationwide celebration: the Festival of Community Cinema.

The festival offers both new and established film societies the opportunity to mark this historic occasion by screening a film from a specially curated collection of 25 titles, spanning the years 1924 to 2025. This unique programme represents a century of creativity and diversity in community cinema, featuring landmark titles, audience favourites, and rediscovered gems from around the world.

All the information on how volunteer- led film societies can take part and how you can find a film society near you is available on the Cinema For All website. Tickets for each screening will be just £3, encouraging participation and helping to continue the legacy of community cinema for the next 100 years.

Highlights from the programme include:

“For 100 years, community cinemas have brought together a love and a passion for film with the desire to build a community around the big screen,” said Jaq Chell, CEO Cinema For All.

“They offer affordable, local, safe spaces for people to see films together, as an audience. With over 1600 community screens across the UK, they make an important impact on the film industry, on film education, on access to arts and culture and on people’s lives.”

Community cinemas and film societies bring film to all areas of the country; 31 per cent of community screens operate in rural areas, compared to only 3 per cent of commercial venues.