A QUINTON cinema which has only been open for ten weeks in the last year has been awarded £115k from the government to help it survive the coronavirus pandemic.

Reel Cinema on Hagley Road West will receive £115,385 from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) from the first round of the £1.57 billion Culture Recovery Fund.

The cinema - one of the oldest in the country - has been forced to furlough its 15 staff and closed last March, opening in August and then closing again in November.

The cash is part of a pot of more than £5million being shared between 33 independent cinemas across England.

The awards are designed to help non-profit and independent cinemas survive the pandemic.

Darren Bevan (left)

Darren Bevan (left)

Darren Bevan manager at Reel Cinema Quinton (picture above left) said: "It's great news - we have only been open for ten weeks in the last year.

"Hopefully we will be open again now on May 17.

"This money will help keep us going, help us pay our bills.

"Local cinemas are important to the community. We just want to open again and get our staff back in."

Reel Cinemas has been awarded £1.5m to support 13 multiplexes.

Kailash Chander Suri, Head of Reel Cinemas, said: “It has been very important to us to pursue all opportunities to protect the jobs of every staff member at Reel Cinemas, and to enable the cinemas to reopen, when permitted, to continue to serve our communities.

"This is why we want to thank the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport and the BFI who have awarded us this grant from the Culture Recovery Fund.

"This vital funding will enable us to protect job security and to manage our business sustainability at this challenging time.”

Light Cinemas will benefit from a grant of £2,928,364 to support 10 cinema sites across the North, Midlands, and South East, ensuring their broad film programming and important community engagement can restart when cinemas can safely reopen.

Reel Cinema Quinton opened in 1939.