A COMMUNITY cinema office is opening in Bradford, with the aim of developing a network of screenings across the district.

Three community cinemas - showing films in venues such as village halls - are up and running in Bradford and organisers are keen to help other people set them up in their own areas.

Mazhar Ellahi, along with Andy Waterman, has co-founded community cinemas at Clayton Village Hall, Thornton Community Centre and Greenmore, serving Lidget Green and Scholemoor. Mazhar said: "These cinemas get people together, and bring films to those who might not normally get chance to see them. It's accessible and affordable, with screenings just £3 for adults and £1 for children.

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"Isolation and loneliness is a big problem in society. This initiative brings people of all ages together in their own communities. One lady who is 93 comes regularly to the Clayton cinema; she walks there from her home.

"People come in smiling and happy, they catch up with friends and make new ones."

The Bradford Community Cinemas Office will be launched on Friday at South Square in Thornton. "Setting up a community cinema can be quite daunting if you're working in isolation," said Mazhar. "We want to create a network and help other people to get involved. We've already got Queensbury Community Partnership and Great Horton Village Hall interested.

"We help new groups set up; initially paying for a season of three movies, and licensing, and loaning equipment. We then help them apply for funding so they can continue."

Funding by the National Lottery, with support by Bradford Council and Sovereign Health, enabled the Community Cinemas project to purchase equipment, including speakers, amplifiers, a DVD player and projector. Films are screened at each venue every month.

"We get to know the audience in each area and often take requests," said Mazhar. "Musicals tend to go down well in Clayton, for example. We show a mix of older films and some recently released ones. We showed Some Like It Hot last year, people were saying what a treat it was to see it on a big screen. We have a 7.1 surround speaker system.

"Sometimes we have film-themed events - we asked a bird expert to bring his kestrel and take questions, in prior to a screening of Kes. And when we showed The Godfather a local author gave a talk on how the film was produced."

The community cinemas are run by volunteers, who take on a variety of roles, including selling ice-creams, putting chairs out and arranging black-out blinds.

"We would like more volunteers," said Mazhar. "The biggest group is in Clayton, where 40 to 50 people, sometimes over 100, come along on a regular basis. We get a range of ages, from young families to older people."

Mazhar and Andy have worked with David Wilson, director of Bradford UNESCO City of Film - which this year celebrates its 10th anniversary - in developing the community cinema model.

* For more about the new Bradford Community Cinemas Office go to bradford-city-of-film.com/enjoy/film-societies