SCREEN NEWS: Watermans launches emergency appeal
Watermans Arts Centre in West London has launched an emergency appeal to raise £60,000 in four weeks. The indie cinema venue is fighting to stay open. Here’s everything you need to know…
By RADIANT CIRCUS
Twitter @radiantcircus | Instagram @radiantcircus
After yesterday’s relatively good news that London’s cinemas can reopen for trading again, comes further evidence of the impact of the pandemic.
Waterman’s Arts Centre has launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise an urgent £60,000 with the following stark warning:
“The simple fact is that, as it stands today, I cannot guarantee that Watermans will be here in its current form by this time next year.”
Director, Jan Lennox
Based in the West London borough of Hounslow, we regularly list Watermans for their indie film programming and such value-adding features as their French Impressions film nights with academic Jon Davies. During the shutdowns, Watermans launched an online film club, No Ticket Required, giving audiences a chance to view a film in their own time and then talk about it with Jon by Zoom. They have also been pioneering Protected Group Screenings in their venue for people requiring extra protection from COVID-19 infection.
Their campaign notes that despite innovating online, reopening after the lifting of restrictions and “accessing every bit of government support and funding aid available to us” – including furloughing their staff team – “all this is simply not enough to guarantee our survival”.
Their funding target is to raise £60,000 over the next four weeks. Donate to their campaign and help spread the word:
#SaveWatermans
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