"The Real Retro Cinema experience"
Keeping Film Alive!
We’re proud to be one of the very few cinemas in the world still running purely 35mm and 16mm film for every screening. Thankfully, we’re not alone—there are still a handful of wonderful cinemas, festivals and venues across the UK keeping the magic of real film alive.
Here are just a few of our friends and fellow film lovers who are working hard to ensure the beauty of celluloid endures.
Please support them however you can, because even attending a single screening or event helps keep this extraordinary tradition alive.
The Cinema Museum, London
If you’ve never been, The Cinema Museum is pure magic. Tucked away in the old Lambeth Workhouse, it’s crammed with posters, projectors, uniforms and props from the golden age of cinema. Every corner tells a story. They also host regular screenings on 35mm & 16mm, it feels less like visiting a museum and more like stepping back to the golden age of cinema!
Dirt in the Gate Movies, Christchurch
Dirt in the Gate are kindred spirits to us at Slindon, passionate, slightly obsessive film lovers. Based in Christchurch, screening at the Regent, they put on cracking nights with cult films, horror, classics, and the kind of stuff you’d never find at a multiplex, often projected on 35mm or 16mm. Their events always have a proper buzz about them.
The Prince Charles Cinema, London
The Prince Charles is legendary for a reason. It is London’s indie movie palace, famous for singalongs, marathon screenings and themed nights. But what really makes it special is their commitment to 35mm. They have kept film projection alive in the heart of the West End, and there is nothing quite like seeing a print on that screen with a lively London crowd.
Cinè Reale, London
A secret micro cinema screening 16mm and super 8mm prints. It is a place built purely out of love for movies, physical media and community. Step inside and it feels like you have discovered a hidden corner of London film culture.
Parkway Cinema, Barnsley
Family run since the 1950s, Parkway is what a cinema should feel like, warm, welcoming and part of the community. Still screening 35mm and 70mm, If you are anywhere near Barnsley, it is well worth making the trip.
The Nickel Cinema, London
One of London’s smallest cinema with just 25 seats, The Nickel is tiny but full of charm. They care deeply about film, regularly showing movies on 16mm and 35mm, which makes the whole experience feel intimate and rare. Watching a film here feels like being let in on a secret.
The Straight 8 Compeition
Straight 8 a celebration of celluloid in its rawest form. Entrants shoot a whole movie on one roll of Super 8mm film, no edits, no second chances, and the first time anyone sees it, including the filmmakers themselves, is at the public screening. It is risky, chaotic, but always brilliant fun.
St. Ives Film School
In the heart of Cornwall, St Ives Film School is doing something really special, teaching the next generation of filmmakers how to actually use film. From winding cameras to hand developing rolls, it is all about getting your hands dirty and understanding cinema at its most tactile. Plus, you could not ask for a more inspiring setting than the Cornish coast.​