Plymouth Arts Cinema open plans + Open Air Cinema
Plymouth Arts Cinema has announced its plans to reopen on Friday 4 June, following months of closure due to the Covid-19 pandemic, along with dates for its Open Air Cinema.
Open Air Cinema
The city’s independent cinema will also be offering audiences the opportunity to enjoy new releases and old favourites with its annual Open Air Cinema events returning to Tinside Lido on the weekends of 20-22 August, and 2-4 September. It is also working on additional events at the end of July with a significant cultural partner, details of which will be announced soon.
Director and film programmer Anna Navas told D&CFilm: “As we start getting ready to re-open Plymouth Arts Cinema, one of the absolute highlights of the summer is coming together.
Cultural calendar
“Open Air Cinema at Tinside Lido has become a firm fixture in Plymouth’s cultural calendar and was one of the things we missed more than anything last year. We are so looking forward to bringing iconic films back to one of Plymouth’s most iconic locations. It feels wonderful to have a summer of cinema to start getting excited about.”
Audience confidence
Hullo...
Thank you for reading. We could do with your help to keep going. All our content is free... But if you can, you can support us to continue bringing you this coverage, these articles, interviews and reviews. This connection with real indie filmmakers.
It's here we encourage you to get out, watch indie films, support crowdfunders, go to your local venue.
And if you can, Pay What You Can to keep all this going. From £1 a week - £4 a month - a fiver, or whatever you can spare. Much appreciated.
The staff team at PAC have worked to create a safe pathway to reopening, and ensure audience confidence to return to the cinema, by following Government guidelines and advice from the UK Cinema Association. Sellout socially distanced screenings during the brief period of reopening in summer 2020 and latest research show that audiences are keen to return to the cinema.
Bookings
Booking for films in the cinema will open on 1 June (28 May for members), with films such as Nomadland, The Father, Sound of Metal and Another Round, all top prize winners at the recent Oscars ceremony tipped for inclusion in the programme.
“Please watch our movie on the largest screen possible,” actor Frances McDormand said after Nomadland won best picture, “and one day soon take everyone you know into a theater, shoulder-to-shoulder in that dark space, and watch every film that is represented here tonight.”
Much-beloved
Plymouth Arts Cinema a much-beloved organization, and Plymouth’s only independent cinema, kept audiences entertained during lockdown by working with independent distributors, Iris On The Move Film Festival, and Reclaim The Frame, running a curated programme of new independent releases, online events and Q&As to watch at home, with 50% of rental fees going directly to the cinema.
Future
PAC has safeguarded its future sustainability throughout three lockdowns in the past year with extensive fundraising. It secured £47k support from the DCMS Culture Recovery Fund, £15,000 emergency funding thanks to National Lottery funding through the BFI Audience Network (FAN) COVID-19 Resilience Fund, multiple grants allocated by Plymouth City Council, and a Crowdfunder, also supported by Plymouth City Council, which raised £5,126.
Sponsorship
Open Air Cinema is a popular sponsorship opportunity for local business. Details of sponsorship packages will be released soon, but any interested parties should contact info@plymouthartscinema.org.
top image: Plymouth Arts Cinema, Pip Raud, Open AIr Cinema at Tinside. Courtesy of Dom Moore
- New self tape workshop in Cornwall - September 10, 2026
- Escape into a true love story… for free | The Cycle of Love - September 7, 2026
- Mr. Whispers and Megan Tremethick’s Spoiling You at Glowflare Horror fest - September 3, 2026
Discover more from D&CFilm
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
