One of Cumbria’s biggest independently owned cinemas is reopening today after being shut for four months, with a plea by staff for the local community to come out and support them.

Penrith’s three-screen Alhambra Cinema, owned and run by Alan Towers, is showcasing an increased number of classic films as part of its Rewind series to help entice people back into going out to the pictures.

Their first screening as they reopen today is Back To The Future at 1:30pm, which will be followed by The Greatest Showman and cult Cumbrian classic Withnail & I. Meanwhile they have five new releases out including Notting Hill-based Love Sarah.

The small team at the popular picture-house, headed up by manager Matt Bainbridge, have been working around-the-clock to make a number of alterations in order for the old fashioned site to be fit for purpose under the current government guidelines as well as reassuring the local public that they can be confident in feeling safe while enjoying a film.

Measures include spaced out seating, extra cleaning between shows, plastic screens at the counter and staff to wear shield masks.

The Alhambra, which sits on the site of a former brewery, has been a cinema for more than 100 years, and like all arts and culture hubs across Cumbria has taken a huge hit due to the Coronavirus pandemic and ensuing social lockdown.

Alan, aged 63, is a third generation cinema owner, working first as a projectionist at his grandfather Rob Towers’ Prize Cinema in Gretna from the age of 12.

He has run the Penrith site since 2004 alongside the Lonsdale Cinema in Annan. Previously he ran the namesake Alhambra Cinema in Keswick and the Lonsdale Cinema in Carlisle, which closed in 2006.

Alan is mainly concerned about the lack of new big blockbuster releases to dovetail with their reopening but is hoping the novelty factor of being reopen could help.

As with all cinemas, theatres and art centres, the Alhambra received £25,000 from the government in grants, which has been vital in in continuing to survive.

Alan said: “I think the government have been really fair to the film industry and arts, and we haven’t done too badly to be honest. It would have been different if we hadn’t got grant but that covered £13,000 in rent, £6,000 in topping our staff salaries to the normal level and £6,000 in running costs and installing things like sneeze guards.

“The manager Matt has worked very hard with the whole team and been thorough plans for people coming and going out while keeping everyone social distancing while at the cinema.

“I don’t think we will be doing anything more than break-even for a few months and will need a big blockbuster film like Bond to get back into making a profit. Years ago it didn’t matter too much what you were screening, people would come out for the experience and we’d have a number of people just come and ask what they could watch.

“Now people are more focused on seeing a particular film, rather than attending every Sunday or Monday because that is what they usually do. And when we posted up on social media about our plans and reopening, one person commented that it is a shame there is nothing new and really good on, that is why a big blockbuster would have helped.

“Some cinemas already opened on the 10th but we decided to wait in the hope Mulan and others would being released. They’ve since been put back another week but we don’t want to wait any longer. Part of the problem is that they’re very dominated by the US market and arrangements over there, which can have a big impact here.

“The novelty factor of being open again after several months may help and bring a different audience out but our usual clients, predominantly families and the older generations are likely to be the most cautious.”

During lockdown manager Matt Bainbridge, aged 29, set up an Isolation film club page online, separate to the cinema, but in order to keep people in the wider Eden area interested in film and keep that community feel together.

He is concerned that during lockdown several films have instead gone straight to pay-per-view via live streams where previously cinemas would have them exclusively for nearly two months.

He said: “It has been a strange time, we’ve been closed for more than 100 days and that has never happened before. Our concern is that it could lead to peoples habits changing, usually we feel that anything which promotes films and the art industry is good for us but there is a lot of uncertainty at the moment which is why we are hoping that as many people come out to support us.

“There is a lot of anxiety in the industry, companies both big and small have been affected but hopefully it could lead to more opportunities for smaller film makers. We’ve worked very hard in making the screens as safe as possible with new measures, and I’ve been in meetings with Film Hub North alongside other cinema managers to make sure we are as best prepared as possible.

“People have constantly been asking about when we’re reopening, that’s encouraging as we are in a rural area so the cinema is an opening to the rest of the world.”