New project bringing art and film together

The award-winning Leigh Film Society has announced a deal to regularly screen non-mainstream cinema at Wigan town centre culture hub The Old Courts.

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And the group has also gone into partnership with Standish-based Cross Street Arts for two-monthly events where painters and sculptors introduce films which are particularly important to them.

The whole arrangement is being launched in November with a high-profile showing of Swedish art world satire The Square, which won the prestigious Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, before the full calendar of screenings starts in 2019.

Leigh Film Society development director Elizabeth Costello said: “We are really excited to be working with Cross Street Arts and The Old Courts.

“We will be bringing a diverse and varied programme to new audiences in the borough and delivering community cinema in Wigan town centre.

“We’ve often thought about moving towards Wigan and it has started slowly but this is a great new venture and we are really looking forward to the future working relationship together.”

Anna FC Smith from Cross Street Arts, who came up with the idea for artists to present films, said: “It’s very exciting to collaborate with an organisation on the other side of the borough and to introduce people to art through a form of culture everybody enjoys.

“The artists have been delighted and surprised by what has been chosen and we’re looking forward to seeing them on the big screen.”

The programme is certainly varied, with everything from cult titles to experimental Russian cinema on the list.

Leigh Film Society has previously screened I, Daniel Blake at the Crawford Street venue to support food banks.

The Old Courts’ managing director David Jenkins said: “Being able to offer access in Wigan town centre to non-mainstream film and community cinema backed by an award-winning organisation is a dream come true.

“Collaboration is a long, committed process through which artists are allowed to experiment, take risks and learn in the aim of producing a long-lasting legacy, which I am sure this will be.”

Find out more at www.leighfilmsociety.com, www.theoldcourts.com or crossstreetarts.com