Coming soon: Hackney Picturehouse to open
Hackney Picturehouse cinema is to open its doors to the public on Mare Street later this month.
Picturehouse Cinemas will celebrate the launch with a members-only preview week including screenings and an open day before officially opening on 28th. A screening of New York Met Ballet’s Don Giovanni follows on Saturday 29th.
“We hope to create a vibrant local community cinema that will become one of the lynchpins of cultural activity in the centre of the borough and which will complement the Rio Cinema in Dalston,” a Picturehouse spokesperson said.
The old Ocean music venue in central Hackney will be transformed into a four-screen luxury cinema with digital, 3D and satellite technology. Like other Picturehouse Cinemas, arthouse, documentary and international films will be complemented by mainstream releases.
Picturehouse plans several film festivals including Film Africa and the Kurdish Film Festival and will host other art, cultural and music events. Regular live music will perform in an upstairs bar called Hackney Attic and the Ocean’s original concert facilities remain in the auditorium for larger shows.
The cinema is the first venue serving London Fields Brewery beer, including a special bespoke Picturehouse beer.
Sustainable building materials were used in the refit of the building, and there is office space upstairs available for rent at affordable rates. A street level eatery with free Wifi and meeting cubicles offers somewhere new for Hackney’s many creative freelancers to take their laptops.
The Picturehouse is keen to emphasise the many price concessions offered and Hackney residents’ positive response: “We have been overwhelmed by the support of the local community both through the countless messages of excitement and encouragement through the Hackney Picturehouse Facebook page, our Twitter feed and in person at our stall at the Broadway Market,” said the spokesperson.
The film’s opening week listings include: The Help, Tintin 3D, The Ides of March, and We Need To Talk About Kevin.
More details about Hackney Picturehouse here.
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