Rye Film Club is celebrating its 20th anniversary by showing its first film Brassed Off! (1996 – 103 minutes) on Friday May 4.
Starring the late Pete Postlethwaite with Ewan McGregor and Tara Fitzgerald (above) as the romantic leads, the film also starred Sue Johnston, Stephen Tompkinson and Jim Carter, better known to us today from his butlering in Downton Abbey.
Grimley Colliery brass band has been in existence for 100 years, as long as the pit itself, but the pit is now closing down. Can the band survive?
This will be the first time we have shown a film for the second time in all our 20 years. The film will be shown at the Rye Community Centre, Conduit Hill. Entry is free and there is a licensed bar. Doors open at 6:30pm for 7pm start.
Founder member Geoff Boudreau said: “Following the success of film shows during the Rye Festival in September, a few like-minded people met to discuss the viability of starting a film club at the Community Centre. The inaugural meeting was at Ken and Margaret Bird’s house in March 1998, attended by the Birds, David Willison, Sheila Somerville, Frank Jenks, John Izod and myself.
“We initially hired a projector, later purchasing one and over the years have replaced it with a state-of-the-art digital one along with a surround sound system and the remote controlled screen now in situ above the stage. We also bought 60 padded ‘function chairs’ as well as 150 cushions which have had good use over the years.
“As Rye had not had a cinema for a quarter of a century there was keen interest in joining the club and we had a full house of 150 members for the initital screening of Brassed Off in June 1998. Over the years before the Kino came to Rye the club was very successful and was able to donate excess funds to the Community Centre, estimated to be in excess of £30,000, This enabled all kinds of renovation, repairs and modernisation to take place. In addition the club held charity film shows to benefit local charities such as the Rye and Winchelsea Memorial Hospital.