EXETER CINEMA HERITAGE PROJECT
Filmgoing has always been a popular pastime and one that has shaped the city we know now. Of the many cinemas the city has been home to only four now remain. With film audience’s relationship to the big screen shifting so dramatically in recent years this is an opportunity to show how cinema has changed the landscape and culture of the city and to give residents a chance to reflect on the stories and memories that have emerged from these important cultural spaces.
The Exeter Cinema Heritage Project has created a series of 11 short documentary films recording the cinema going memories of Exeter’s older residents.
The Cinemas of Exeter
Recollections of some of Exeter's historic cinemas.
Film Memories
Recollections of important moments in the life of a cinema goer.
Live Events
Memories of some of the live acts that played in Exeter's cinemas.
The Closing of the ABC
Memories of the closure of the ABC Cinema, Exeter.
Family Connections
Formative family memories and a life long love of film, made in the cinema.
School Cinema
Memories of watching films at school.
Life as an Usherette
Stories of life as an usherette at the ABC cinema.
Saturday Morning Pictures
Childhood memories of Saturday Morning Picture Clubs.
The Teenage Years
How cinema going changed during the teenage years.
A Trip to the Cinema
How a trip to the cinema has changed over the years, and how it hasn't.
Cinema in Exeter Today
The cinema landscape in modern day Exeter.
Project Partners
The Exeter Cinema Heritage Project is run by Exeter Phoenix and has been made possible by funding from The National Lottery Heritage Fund and through the support and hard work of our project partners. Click on the links below to find out more about these organisations.
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The Bill Douglas Cinema Museum is home to one of the largest collections of material relating to the moving image in Britain.
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Into Film puts film at the heart of children and young people's education, helping to supportt heir academic, cultural, and social development.
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Age UK Exeter is an independent charity working in Exeter to offer support and services to older people.
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Making space for creative community engagement in the heart of Exeter.