Boathouse Community Cinema

On Friday 25th October we screened the 1976 classic film Pressure as part of our ongoing development of a community cinema at The Boathouse, and in celebration of Black History Month.

Pressure was the first feature length Black British film and showed the gritty reality of growing up Black in the UK. The main character, Tony, faces institutional as well as personal racism, and also feels torn between two cultures.

Made on a shoestring budget, the film was banned for two years for fear that it might incite violent demonstrations. Eventually the Director, Horace Ové, physically took the film to a local cinema where people queued around the block to see it.

Whilst people didn't have to queue at The Boathouse, we had our biggest film audience to date, with 65 people coming to the screening. Before the film, actor (and daughter of the Director) Indra Ové spoke about what the film meant to her and her experiences as a child growing up in a radical household.

At the end of the film, we were delighted to discover that the actor Herbert Norville (who played the main character Tony in the film) was in the audience. He spoke and answered questions about his experiences. 

The evening represented everything that we want our community cinema to be - a great film that brought people together in a warm and welcoming space to celebrate our diverse community and make new friends.

We are currently planning our spring schedule. If you have any suggestions for films that you would like us to screen please let us know. We would also love to hear from anybody who wants to get more involved in helping to run the community cinema. This is a great opportunity to be more hands-on and develop practical skills. Training and refreshments will be provided. Please contact admin@boathousecic.co.uk