Wolverhampton's Light House receives funding boost
An independent cinema and exhibition centre has received a welcome funding boost ahead of a possible reopening.
The Light House Cinema and Cafe Bar in Wolverhampton has received a resilience grant from the British Film Institute FAN (Film Audience Network) Covid-19 Resilience Fund and National Lottery.
The award of £14,991 will be a welcome boost to the venue, which was forced to close in March due to lockdown restrictions due to the coronavirus pandemic.
It is one of 13 venues across the Midlands and 130 in the country to benefit from the £1.3 million fund, which been made available to provide grants to independent exhibitors in critical financial need.
The Light House has been part of the city since 1991, but has struggled to remain open over the last couple of years due to dwindling finances following the loss of a council subsidy worth £73,000.
The venue, which is a registered charity, features an independent cinema, cafe bar and galleries and costs £1,600 a day to run.
The grant will help the venue by supporting the cost of fixed overheads and help the chief executive Kelly Jeffs to work with the board of trustees on a reopening strategy.
She said: "We’re very grateful to the BFI Film Audience Network and National Lottery for their support at this uncertain time.
"Ironically, our enforced closure comes on the back of a really successful end to 2019, which saw record-breaking ticket sales at Light House.
"As a charity, we’re dependent on ticket sales and donations to stay operational, so for our main source of income to be suddenly cut off was a devastating blow.
"This funding will go some way towards helping us investigate ways of reopening and explore ways that we can continue to bring our fantastic programme of films and events to the people of Wolverhampton.
"We’re looking forward to welcoming back our audience and supporters when it’s safe to do so."
The Light House is also encouraging people who might otherwise be planning to visit the cinema to consider purchasing a ‘virtual ticket’, which donates the cost of a cinema ticket to their charity.
To do this and to find out more about the venue, go to light-house.co.uk.
