As countries around the world tentatively lift lockdowns – or make the first moves to do so – we now face growing uncertainty about how the future will look. The places we once took for granted still face a fight for survival – not least those where people gather for extended periods, whether restaurants, bars, theatres or cinemas. Regarding the latter, streaming platform MUBI has today announced a scheme to help cinemas stay afloat, helming a fundraising scheme to help save your local screen.
Run in conjunction with the British Film Institute and the Film Audience Network, film fans are encouraged to donate to a crowdfunding scheme aiming to raise £100,000 for cinemas across the country. To kick things off, MUBI is donating £10,000. “Cinemas and the people behind them are not just our partners, collaborators and friends; they are the soul of our industry and we can’t imagine the world without them,” they said today in an announcement titled ‘Dear Virus, you will not kill cinemas’.
To celebrate, this slogan will appear on a number of London-based cinemas – the Rio, the Phoenix, the Genesis and Catford Mews – whereby MUBI has hired the traditional external marquees to pass on this message “in defiance of the virus and in solidarity with our friends”.
To join the campaign, donate here.
