Community cinema premieres in Shinfield

The Shinfield Cinema has been funded by Shinfield Studios, which completed construction of its 18 sound stages at the University’s Thames Valley Science Park earlier this year. The cinema will be run by Shinfield Parish Council.

On Friday 4 October, the parish council hosted a grand opening event with a screening of the recently-released Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire, the first full-length movie to be filmed at Shinfield Studios.

In addition to the screening, the launch celebrations included a visit by the infamous Ghostbusters Ecto-1 vehicle and several characters in tribute to the original Ghostbusters films, including a giant marshmallow man.

Bruce Winton, Chief Executive of Shinfield Parish Council, said: "We are delighted to have such a state of the art facility at the School Green Centre. We are looking forward to our residents coming to see a varied programme of films, as well as using the facility in other ways. We are also looking forward to our collaboration with the University." 

The community cinema will officially open to the public on 1 November and screenings will take place every Friday at 4pm and 7.30pm. A programme of films for all ages has been scheduled up until Christmas. Future film times may vary depending on community feedback.

Shinfield Parish Council is also working with the University of Reading’s Department of Film, Theatre & Television to collaborate on a community film programming project.

Students and staff at the department will come together with the local community to undertake research, consultation and feedback in order to develop a film programme for the Shinfield cinema that is informed by the community’s interests, concerns and priorities.

Dr Shweta Ghosh, from the Department of Film, Theatre and Television, said: “This is an opportunity for us to develop a more connected film culture and ecosystem in the local region, build stronger connections between higher education, local government, industry and communities and enhance collaborative placemaking.”

This work will be undertaken as part of the Cine-Connections project, which is supported by the University’s Community Engagement Fund, with additional support from the Wokingham Cultural Education Partnership and the Shinfield Studios community engagement team.

Images credit: Shinfield Parish Council