National Cinema Day: Wigan film society offers affordable cinema all year & has upcoming 10th anniversary film festival

A local film society in Wigan is celebrating National Cinema Day with a screening of Harry Potter and is offering affordable cinema year-round to people in Greater Manchester.

Hundreds of cinemas across the UK are coming together on Saturday September 2 to celebrate the film industry. Participating cinemas are selling tickets to all shows from just £3 each, hoping to encourage anyone and everyone to come together to share in the big screen experience.

Wigan’s Leigh Film Society has its own cinema in an old Spinning Mill which has been built by the community. The space offers box office viewings and private hire, and the society’s Development Director Elizabeth Costello says the hand-built cinema is the perfect place to watch independent and mainstream films.

Elizabeth says one of the main focus’ of the charity is bringing affordable cinema to local people - a far cry from the expense of a multiplex cinema ticket nowadays.

Leigh Film Society will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of its Film Festival next month, where creators from all over the world submit their short films - of which a select few are chosen to be previewed over two days at Leigh Film Factory.

The international festival still celebrates local filmmakers and has five winning categories - documentaries, animation, young filmmakers, North West, and UK and International.

We spoke to Elizabeth about the importance of affordable cinema and the charity’s upcoming film festival in September.