Tyneside Cinema at Christmas

L-R Mickyle, Callum, Sarah, Vicki and Anne on the 2nd floor next to the old cinema projector. Joe was with us in spirit!

For our Christmas outing, I managed to persuade our Postgraduate Digital Content Creator team to join me in my 5th year running of seeing It's a Wonderful Life (a black and white film from 1946; I am a bit mad about James Stewart) at the Tyneside Cinema. The film is beautiful and brings the Christmas spirit out in even the most Grinch-like of people, especially if you choose the mulled wine option that Tyneside Cinema provide!

The Tyneside Cinema is one of my favourite places in Newcastle, it is full of the toon's rich history and plays current big-screen films as well as independent films and films from around the world. They have retro-style seating in the Classic area, offer student discount, and also have a café attached for a bite to eat.

Here are my top 10 favourite facts about the Tyneside Cinema:

1. Tyneside Cinema started out as a monastery then a mansion, until 1937 when Dixon Scott opened it as the Newsreel Theatre
2. Dixon Scott is the great-uncle of film producers/directors Sir Ridley Scott (Alien and Blade Runner) and Tony Scott (Top Gun), who grew up in the North East
3. In the Newsreel Theatre, you paid just once and could watch the news on loop all day if you felt the need, in the now Classic Cinema. Newsreel footage is still played for free every morning in the Classic, making it the oldest surviving newsreel theatre in the UK!
4. It is a Grade II-listed building; many of the original features are Art Deco influenced Persian design
5. A film society used to view foreign films in the Tyneside Cinema. By the 1950s, this became the biggest film society outside of London. Perhaps Northumbria's Film Society will one day do the same!
6. If you are an international student, or interested in/learning a new language, Language café provides a series of films which can be easily enjoyed as is, or you can meet up after the show for free to chat about the film in its native tongue in a relaxed setting
7. Patrons include Neil Tennant of Pet Shop Boys and Paul Smith of Maximo Park
8. In 2008, new levels were added to the building including two new screens, the Roxy and the Electra. A film learning centre, called the Tyneside Studio, partially designed by North East filmmaker Mike Figgis, was also installed
9. The cinema also allows budding producers and digital artists to network and present their work
10. For more history, you can see old cinema projectors on the 2nd floor and there is a handy timeline on the 1st floor. There is also a free tour of the building which takes place most days at 11am

What's more is that our University is partnered with Tyneside Cinema, allowing staff and students to revel in new approaches to learning, teaching and public engagement. In collaboration, brand new talents are supported - Northumbria's Graduate Artist in Residence programme provides a super opportunity for a graduating artist/recent alumni to develop their practice and show off their work in The Gallery, Tyneside Cinema.

The independent cinema is not only great for people interested in Northumbria's postgraduate courses of Animation MA/Arts MRes, but also for anyone and any course in general - it is a fantastic spot to visit, full of Newcastle's heritage, houses the best films and is situated bang in the city centre.