On Friday December 16th, 2005, twenty-five people came along to enjoy the last film of the year, which was also successful in making a small profit! Most of those present felt that the monthly film nights should continue, but the accounts for the year showed that it might be necessary to reconsider the £1 discount for pensioners. Many suggestions for next year's shows were made, and your ideas will be welcomed: send them by email to: editor@slaley.org.uk, or by phone to (01434)673 443.
The new programme will be announced as soon as it has been checked (we have to ensure that films are available for hire at "non-theatrical" performances).
The Slaley Film Club has had a mixed success since it started in late 2004. Here is a quick summary of what we’ve shown this year, what the size of audience was (in parentheses), and how much we made (or lost) each month:
January, "Love, Actually" (20) £2.03 loss
February, "The Weeping Camel" (42) £71.50 profit
March, "Bend it like Beckham" (21) £12.20 loss
April, "War of the Buttons" (38) £55.70 profit
May, "Stepping Out" (17) £40.00 loss
July, "Make an Ad in a Day" (20) A very succesful day for junior film-makers!
September, "Spirited Away" (16) £50.45 loss
October, "Whale Rider" (20) £16.95 loss
November, "Life & Death of Col. Blimp" (16) £16.40 loss
December, "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" (25) £9.64 profit
As you will see, we have made big profits on some evenings, but have more often been making a loss. We can carry on for a few months more at this rate, but in the long run we need more income (e.g. bigger audiences).
The choice of films is always a difficult one; this year it has largely been down to the two of us (Jean & Michael). We’ve tried to introduce you to films that you might not have seen before, rather than popular big-budget films that will be readily available in commercial cinemas, on DVD or on TV. Sometimes this has worked (e.g. in February & April), sometimes not!
Our thanks go to all who have helped in cooking, serving and clearing up afterwards -- also, of course, to Christo Wallers and his helpers from the Queen's Hall who do so much to support us and many other Tynedale film clubs.
Jean & Michael Elphick, Ann Lishman