The Phoenix Cinema in East Finchley is one of the oldest continuously running cinemas in the UK, built in 1910 and opened for business in 1912 with a 250 people seating capacity. Their recent plans to reopen on November 5th and show Nick Cave’s film “Idiot Prayer” were thwarted by the new lockdown being imposed on that exact date, meaning the cinema still remained closed ever since March. With new tiers and restrictions constantly changing and being announced, we are yet to see when this historic cinema may reopen, with Alison Gold, chair of the Phoenix Cinema Trust, saying “We’re ready to open and we’ll open as soon as we can”.
Understandably, as with many businesses and shops in this time tainted by uncertainty, the trust needs to raise funds in order to maintain this independent cinema due to the almost 8 months of no customers or money coming in. Just under £20,000 has been raised thus far, almost reaching their target of donations and this includes donations from infamous patrons, such as Benedict Cumberbatch. In total, income needs to be increased by £50,000 and The Phoenix are well on track to reaching this goal.
A huge part to play in the possibility of the reopening of the cinema is due to a massive undisclosed donation from a local East Finchley couple Alex Kleiner and Michele McDowell. The couple are regular visitors to the cinema, even with their 5 children, taking them out to the Phoenix Kids’ Club on Saturday mornings and hated reading about the financial issues The Phoenix was going through and wanted to help out to the best of their abilities.
Due to the entire cinema staff on furlough, the couple were unable to contact them via email or by calling, so they left a piece of paper containing their contact details outside the front doors of the cinema and luckily a worker found it, called them up and thankfully for them and for the Cinema, they were able to arrange the payment proceedings and it was saved. This also served as a huge victory for the local community, as with there being so much negativity and cautiousness due to the Covid-19 pandemic, them being able to open will serve as an escape for many people, boosting morale and even for after the virus passes, it is important to have key public services such as the Phoenix Cinema still running, to enjoy after.
If you are interested in helping out the cinema through these tough times through the form of a donation, you can do so at www.justgiving.com/campaign/phoenixrising
