The Maona cinema is filling the gap left by the closure of Kinokulture almost 18 months ago, and in the same premises they will be showing a wide variety of films.
Tatenda Jamera, says the project has been a long-held dream – he took up the cudgels when plans fell through to keep Kinokulture going when the previous proprietors retired, and despite facing many hurdles has beavered away behind the scenes to get Maona up and running.
And while it’ll be a work-in-progress in the early days, with improvements continuing around the cinema programme, he stresses that he’s not in it for the short-term.
“My long-view plan is to gut the building, make it a two-screen cinema, introduce a café and workplaces, and even set up outdoor summer screenings,” he told a meeting of former and prospective volunteers who will help run the place.
Mr Jamera comes from a solid film background. He studied filmmaking at Oxford, and then at the National Film and Television School. In 2021 he launched Maona, initially to help support those from a minority background to show their films, and the company grew to work with established cinemas across the country.
Oswestry is the first time he has his own cinema base though, and he told the volunteers how excited he is to get it up and running.
He plans to have ten screenings across four days, Thursday to Sunday. And there’ll be a wide range of films, from the latest releases to independent films – with everything in between.
Before Kinokulture, there have been three big cinemas in Oswestry.
Two started in the years before the First World War.
The Plaza in Oswald Road, advertising “the greatest successes” on screen, was originally the Plaza ballroom, opening in the 1860s. Later renamed the Playhouse, it stood on the site of the current KC Jones garage.
The King’s Theatre – later the Century after being modernised in the 1950s – had over 1,000 seats. It was in New Street, occupying the site of the now closed Wilkinson store.
The “baby” was the Regal, opening grandly in May 1933 during the pre-WW2 cinema boom. It was also large, with around 750 seats in the stalls and over 300 upstairs in the circle.
It was taken over by the national Granada chain in the 1950s, closing in 1975 before reopening as the independent Regal a year later. That then closed in 1994, along with many others in the face of competition from TV.
Does Oswestry need a cinema?
There’s been a national cinema revival in recent years, with big movies generating big publicity and big attendances. And it’s not just for the older generations: blockbusters for children and teenagers have seen that share of the market grow hugely, and they of course are the cinemagoers of the future.
At the time of going to press, Oswestry Life can’t bring you the opening schedule – we will publish film lists in the future – so keep an eye out on social media for what’s coming up.
And whether it’ll be your first foray into a local cinema, or if you’re a returning Kinokulture or Oswestry Film Society customer, do support this exciting venture, and help Maona grow and establish itself for future generations and for a long time to come.
Tatenda Jamera and Holly Maries
