Curzon reaches semi-finals of National Lottery Awards

posted by Michael Zoldessy on July 16, 2012 at 8:00 am

CLEVEDON, UNITED KINGDOM — The Curzon Community Cinema in Clevedon is through to the semi-finals of The National Lottery Awards 2012, and needs the public’s votes to win.

The Cinema, which celebrates its centenary this year, is one of only ten projects to make it through to the semi-finals in the Best Heritage Project category of The National Lottery Awards. The Awards are an annual search to find the UK’s favourite Lottery-funded projects, and they recognize and celebrate the difference that Lottery-funded projects make to communities across the UK.

The Curzon was awarded £321,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund in 2010 as part funding toward a £500,000 refurbishment project. The money allowed the cinema to complete the most urgent repairs to the Grade II listed building’s roof, create a new, permanent exhibition on the history of cinema in Clevedon, open a new lounge bar, and better display the Curzon Collection of Heritage Cinema Technology. The money also allowed the Curzon to employ a full time Education and Learning Coordinator, who has developed an extensive program of work with local schools, provided vocational experiences for the Curzon Youth Panel, and extended the Curzon’s program to include regular Senior Screenings, and the new Curzon Kids’ Club.

The winning project in each category will receive national recognition on a star-studded BBC One TV show in early November and will receive a £2,000 cash prize to spend on their project.

Gareth Negus, Director of the Curzon, said, “We’re delighted to have reached the semi-finals of the awards; the news was a marvelous 100th birthday present! The Curzon has always been a cinema for the people and the aim of our project was to share with the public the rich heritage of our building, and of cinema exhibition in the UK. The Curzon embodies the story of cinema in the UK in many ways, and we hope to continue that story for many years to come.”

Voting for the finals starts at 9am on Tuesday 26 June and ends at midnight on Sunday 22 July. To register your vote for the Curzon, log on to www.lotterygoodcauses.org.uk/awards or call 0844 836 9712. Calls cost no more than 5p from a BT landline. Calls from other networks may vary, calls from mobiles could cost considerably more. Callers are advised to check with their telephone network provider to be certain of the cost. No profit will be made from the cost of the phone vote by The National Lottery

For further information, images etc please contact Gareth Negus on 07436260691, or Cathy Poole, Education and Learning Coordinator on 01275 879115.

Theaters in this post

• Curzon Cinema & Arts