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Elephant’s community cinema at the Coronet closes

London SE1 website team

The community cinema at the Elephant and Castle has ceased operations due to a contractual dispute with the Coronet management.

The cinema reopened in November with a blaze of publicity around the Elefest film festival weekend. Films shown since then include the Christmas blockbuster The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King.

But now a message on the cinema operator's website says:
"Cinema Furore apologises for the lack of activity. This is due to a contractual dispute with the Coronet management. Cinema will be resuming at this or another site around the Elephant & Castle as soon as possible.

"We had planned to run a world cinema season and bring the much-acclaimed Latin American Film Festival to the Coronet but the venue management were unable to secure us a date."

The page about the cinema has been removed from the Coronet's own website.

The backers of the community cinema questions the sincerity of the Coronet mangement's commitment to community issues and are interested on local people's views on the subject.

Local residents and filmgoers are invited to email the community cinema at [email protected]">[email protected] and the venue management at [email protected]">[email protected].

Meanwhile the cinema's training arm has announced the launch of a 'Basic Skills Introduction to Video' course currently under way at Morley College and soon at Southwark College as well.

Cinema Furore's Fintan McAlindon says: "This is radical in that we take all social groups and ages – at a basic skills NVQ1 & 2 level – and our tutors are direct from the broadcast industry: cameramen, sound recordists, producers, directors.

"Our philosophy is to fire their imaginations without losing sight of the stark realities of earning a living in the industry. If the students wish to pursue this interest academically we will guide them on to further education at Morley, the LCP and the LSBU.

"I call this 'industry direct'."

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