SFW 2016 Vintage Mobile Cinema

JORDAN THOMAS

In the 1960s a set of seven mobile lecture theatres were built to promote British industry on the road. Fast-forward to 2016 and outside the Southampton Guildhall sits Audrey, the last of its kind, now converted into a glorious mobile cinema. Touring the United Kingdom for the last six years, the Vintage Mobile Cinema aims to create a unique cinema experience, fitted with period theatre seats and an impressive digital projection system. With access to an archive of 85,000 films, the Vintage Mobile Cinema team are able to customise screenings to fit a variety of audiences. Throughout its stay at Southampton Film Week, Audrey exhibited work from local artist and Southampton Film Week royalty Anna Cady, as well as taking us back in time to several British Pathé documentaries too.
 
Each screening begins with a brief history of the Vintage Mobile Cinema, accompanying the bitesize reels of a quirky black-and-white era Britain. Although it is very easy to be drawn into the world displayed in the campy vintage stylings of Pathé, the occasional rocking of the cinema reminds you that you are, in fact, delightfully sitting in the back of a vintage vehicle, not a 21st century auditorium. With curiosity captivating visitors and onlookers throughout its stay, Audrey was certainly a hit during Southampton Film Week and is a testament to the celebration of cinema that City Eye brings to the region.
 
The Vintage Mobile Cinema took place on Friday 11 and Saturday 12 November as part of Southampton Film Week 2016.