Annual Report
From The Star And Shadow Cinema Wiki
0 people are paid to work here
2 number of other places in Britain can process black & white 16mm film
5 bike racks to lock your wheels up
10 toilet cubicles to do your business in
12 different film formats to show a massive range of films
13 fire extinguishers in case things get too hot
24 key holders for the building
50 pence for a soft drink at the bar
60 comfy seats in the cinema auditorium
450 radical films available to borrow from the radical library
5000 emails sent each year to info@starandshadow.org.uk
2610066 our phone number (0191 if you're outside the independent republic of newcastle)
A YEAR IN THE LIFE OF THE STAR & SHADOW CINEMA (aka the (nicely written) Annual Report)
Over the last year thousands of people have wandered, skipped or staggered through the big blue doors and made unique contributions to the Star and Shadow. To all of you, here's what happened:
Film remains our core activity - we make sure at least 2 out of the 5 nights we're open each week are devoted to moving images. We have been graced with films old and new, international and local, funny and tearful, good and bad. We have invested in some super new projection equipment to make sure we present the films as the film-maker intended - including the steady stream of new films made by our audiences, showcased in our seasonal “Eyes Wide Open” nights.
Festivals have continued to bring new people and connections. We've linked up with Pride, Vamos, Jazz Festival, Community Green Festival, Summer Tyne, International Brass Festival, AV Festival, Ouseburn Festival, Jewish Film Festival, and Northern Lights - amongst others. We've hosted our very own anarchist Projectile for the fourth time, plus the first Bicycle and Extreme Ukulele festivals.
The six beautiful brochures in the last year are an apt reflection of the activities and people at the Star & Shadow. Each brochure has had a different designer bringing their own panache and quirky emphasis. We've also spread the word through our website, emails and special publicity.
Our building plays a big part in our success. Good location, great public transport links, pretty much level-access throughout and enough space to experiment in. Our second “Building Festival” in August was a concerted ten-day push to do some essential maintenance and make an aesthetic leap forward. If you don't like how you find the cinema now - make sure you come down to a monthly maintenance day.
By far the biggest factor into our success is the labour invested by hundreds of volunteers. Well over 300 people have contributed at least an evening or day of their time. A roll call of everyone would be a very, very long list. So instead we would like to record thanks to everyone who has taken any responsibility for helping an event happen. Whether buying a drink, booking a film, cleaning the toilets, playing your music, doing the accounts, or just telling your friends. You have ALL helped.
Keeping hundreds of people working together without any explicit leadership roles is not easy. Open weekly meetings, coordination on our wiki website, enthusiastically welcoming new volunteers and an induction session on the second saturday of each month all help. But ultimately our inherent structure as volunteer-run venture means we have to share out the jobs and responsibilities. This means that many people talk about “we” and “our” when referring to the Star & Shadow – it's emotionally owned by loads of people – not by some paid bosses.
In the last year we've made a concerted effort to protect this way of working. So we don't over-stretch the people involved, we've been open only 5 nights a week. We've also stopped taking private booking or outside promotions to make sure that the hard work of our volunteers supports events they are excited to work on. And the good thing about that is that more folk are getting more involved in the running of the space to put their events on as part of Star & Shadow.
Obviously we can't run purely on volunteer time and good will. It also takes money. On average it costs us £500 each week just to be able open the door. That goes on all the basics of rent (£225), rates, electric, insurance, but also the more exciting things like a new digital and 35mm projectors. And of course we've got to promote the events (£120 each week on publicity) and pay for the films (average cost of £90 per film). So it ain't cheap.
A crucial way we manage to get by is through bar sales. Whilst trying to have affordable prices (and a bias towards local, independent, organic & fair-trade producers) we make £223 profit each week. As a cinema we get ticket income of £70 each week, but with audiences varying between 2 and 70 we rely on people buying drinks to be able to continue showing films. In the past the building has been hired out (raising £96 per week on average) and we also rent out two offices out the back (average £67 pw). We also receive grants from the City Council (£192 pw) and the Arts Council. Thanks.
Ultimately we'd love to be properly self-sufficient, but that depends on more people – like you – watching films here, buying drinks, telling your friends to come along and being part of the whole thing. Unlike other cinemas we're not a charity – we're run by the audiences. At the end of the week we're only good as the contribution – financial and otherwise – we all make.
These figures (and words) aren't totally perfect, but there will be an awesomely complete set of the accounts available for anyone who wants to peruse them at our AGM on Sunday 28 September.
Annual General Meeting
You are invited to our AGM on Sunday 28 September at 5pm. This will be a chance to review the year gone and look ahead. This is an important an event in the year and as a sweetener we're offering savoury nibbles. Afterwards the brilliant Bad Film Club will be hilariously ripping to pieces Woody Allen's film "Match Point". Please be part of it.
