A charming back-street cinema in Belfast, loved by movie buffs across the city, is to get an elegant front entrance thanks to a £75,000 sterling (€121,182) development grant from Queens University.
Based in an alleyway in the University area and funded by the University, the Northern Ireland Film Commission and Belfast City Council, the Queens Film Theatre (QFT) has been a smash hit with discerning cinemagoers since 1969 despite the shabby entrance.
The money for the cinema will fund a much-needed makeover including the development of a new foyer in a restored Victorian house facing the imposing red- brick university building.
According to marketing manager Ms Patricia Quinn, the renovations will make the cinema more visible and increase audiences attracted to the QFT by an alternative mix of international, classic and contemporary films. "There is a certain charm to the current facilities and the patrons who are loyal to us have overlooked the fact that we are up an alleyway. They come for the films and they will continue to, but this way more people will get to use the cinema," she said.
