GFT to reopen on 31 August

Safety measures being put in place

by Jennie Kermode

The GFT in happier times
The GFT in happier times Photo: Max Crawford

The Glasgow Film Theatre, which was one of the last venues in the world to host a major film festival before lockdown, is to reopen on the last day of August, it was announced today. Cinemas in Scotland are allowed to reopen from 15 July but staff at the venue want to make sure that all due safety measures are in place to minimise risk to the public from Covid-19.

"We have taken the decision that we want to re-open as safely as possible, and the planning and implementation of our safety plan to achieve that takes time and training. We are working with our staff to devise a safe operating plan in accordance with the guidance provided by the UK Cinema Association," said Glasgow Film CEO Allison Gardner. "We will be taking our time to make sure we have everything in place for everyone to have the best possible cinema experience. Going to the cinema will obviously be a little different, but the magic of watching a movie on the big screen is one thing that will never change."

The venue, which is run as a charity and runs a number of educational programmes as well as schemes aimed at making cinema accessible to everyone, will only be able to open at 20% capacity in order to be able to allow for social distancing. It is asking its supporters to donate in order to help it keep going at this difficult time.

Other independent cinemas around the UK are expected to open around the same time, at a point when several eagerly anticipated independent films are due to be released.

Share this with others on...
News

Underrepresented stories Laura Green and Anna Moot-Levin on Matter of Mind: My Parkinson’s

Between strangers Anthony Chen in capturing emotion in Drift

Art of observation Matthäus Wörle on his collaborative approach to debut documentary Where We Used To Sleep

Gateway between worlds Anu Valia on expectations, reality and We Strangers

The little things Inside the 2024 Glasgow Short Film Festival

Choosing her colours Joe Lawlor and Christine Malloy on Rose Dugdale and Baltimore

Filmhouse gets £1.5m funding boost Edinburgh cultural hub set to reopen this year

More news and features

Interact

More competitions coming soon.