A NEW mobile cinema will serve the region from 2009.
The Scottish Executive have handed Scottish Screen £500,000 to buy a mobile cinema that will visit rural areas in the Borders and Dumfries and Galloway with little or no cinema provision.
It will join the Executive’s two other mobile cinemas currently deployed in the Highlands and Islands.
The scheme in the north has proved popular with more than half of the 100 seats filled during performances, a number that compares better than the industry average of just 20 per cent.
Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson announced the venture on Tuesday.
She said: “I am delighted that this extra funding will increase access to the cinema experience for communities which are not within easy reach of traditional cinemas.”
Ken Hay, chief executive of Scottish Screen, said: “Screen Machines one and two have proved a great success in taking films to people in our most remote communities.
“We have been campaigning for this to be extended to the south of Scotland and are delighted that the Scottish Executive has agreed to fund a third Screen Machine.
“This will help to ensure that more people have greater access to the cinema experience, regardless of where they live.”
Russell Brown MP gave his backing to the announcement and reckons the project will be a big hit.
He said: “The mobile cinemas have been hugely successful in taking films to isolated communities in the Highlands and Islands so I am pleased the scheme is being rolled out in the south of Scotland.
“I’m sure the cinemas will prove to be a huge success and I welcome the funding from the Scottish Executive to bring this cultural service to our region.”
