Scotland’s Most Southerly Cinema, Isle of Whithorn
It's more than just a film club....
Machars Movies is a successful communities-led venture bringing critically acclaimed films and a highly social cinema experience to the Machars peninsula.
Bringing communities together with the BIG SCREEN...
Screenings take place in the well equipped St. Ninian’s Hall Cinema at the Isle of Whithorn.
Showdates are usually on Saturdays, and occasionally some films may be timed to support other local events. For a list of forthcoming screenings simply check the schedule below.
Non-members: £6 per screening.
Membership
Machars Movies is run as a self-funding venture - membership fees cover only the cost of putting on films and the hire of the Cinema, so your support by joining is vital in enabling us to plan ahead. Annual membership is £30. (Concessions £25). This will entitle you to attend all screenings in the 2012 programme at the privileged Members’ price of just £2.50 per show.
Become a member...
Click here for more information
The Isle of Whithorn
Films coming soon...
Please check this page regularly for information about forthcoming screenings as scheduled programmes may be likely to change at short notice.
Saturday, August 03, 2013
MACHARS MOVIES - BLACK and WHITE THEME NIGHT.
A Holiday Weekend entertainment for everyone - A DOUBLE BILL of classic black and white screen legends Charlie Chaplin and Alec Guinness, starring in THE LAVENDER HILL MOB - and of course, a superb meal with licensed bar to make a memorable occasion. (All films are Cert U).
ADVANCE BOOKING STRONGLY RECOMMENDED Venue: St Ninian's Hall Cinema Watch trailer.
Saturday, September 07, 2013 Time: 1930
MACHARS MOVIES - QUIZ 3 - 'SANTA CLAUS CONQUERS THE MARTIANS'. 
That wacky film title might just be a clue because we're back with another great fun Quiz Night with film, packed with questions, clues, prizes. Come along with your friends and join us for a zany, brain tickling evening!
Venue: St Ninian's Hall Cinema
Saturday, September 21, 2013 Time: 1930
MACHARS MOVIES presents 'THE SHIPPING NEWS'. 
Based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by E. Annie Proulx, and starring Kevin Spacey, Judi Dench, Cate Blanchett and Pete Postlethwaite, the bleak and rugged coastline of Newfoundland is the backdrop for a newly-returned columnist of the local newspaper "The Gammy Bird", owned by an eccentric fisherman. His work soon finds an appreciative audience and he begins to rebuild his life, learning some sea craft and discovering his family's dark history, as well as finally earning some self-respect.
(USA 2002 - Cert 15 - 117 mins) Venue: St Ninian's Hall Cinema Watch trailer.
Saturday, October 19, 2013 Time: 1930
MACHARS MOVIES - KEN LOACH 'THE ANGELS' SHARE'. 
From award-winning director Ken Loach and writer Paul Laverty comes a bitter sweet comedy caper which proves that sometimes all you need in life is a little spirit. Escaping a prison sentence by the skin of his teeth, the wayward and disillusioned Robbie is given one last chance to turn his life around. Together with three friends he embarks on an adventure and discovers that turning to drink might just change their lives--not cheap fortified wine, but the best malt whiskies in the world. Strong stuff all round - cast, and especially language in this Cert 15 release. Unmissable nonetheless.
(UK 2011 - 96 mins) Venue: St Ninian's Hall Cinema Watch trailer.
Saturday, November 02, 2013 Time: 1930
MACHARS MOVIES DOWN UNDER - 'RABBIT PROOF FENCE'. 
Three aboriginal sisters in 1930s Australia are taken from their homes by the government to be trained as servants for a white family. They escape and walk across the Outback with a rabbit-proof fence as their only guide, trying to find their way home. With an epic journey ahead of them, the girls set out to find their way back home by following the rabbit-proof fence that stretches across the Outback, evading increasingly desperate attempts to re-capture them. It's hard to believe that this government implemented policy continued until the early 70s, and the film is a powerful, worthy testimony to the suffering of the stolen generations. (Australia 2002 - Cert PG - 93mins) Venue: St Ninian's Hall Cinema Watch trailer.
Saturday, November 16, 2013 Time: 1900
MACHARS MOVIES SHORTS NIGHT and AGM. 
Enjoy the work of film-makers from around the world with a screening of productions that rarely, if ever, get to a major cinema screen. This is also the evening when we hold our AGM, and finalise with the audience the programme that we will have in 2014. Venue: St Ninian's Hall Cinema
Saturday, December 07, 2013 Time: 1930
MACHARS MOVIES - RESTORED CLASSICS - 'CASABLANCA'. 
As time goes by, the appeal of Casablanca shows no sign of diminishing. Originally intended as a WWII propaganda movie, it remains a marvellous blend of bittersweet romance, wisecracking comedy and wartime intrigue. Wonderfully acted by its cast, it's the story of a laconic nightclub-owner Rick (Humphrey Bogart), whose life in Casablanca is shaken up by the arrival of old flame Elsa (Ingrid Bergman) with her Resistance leader husband. Magnificently restored in high definition.
(USA - 1942 - Cert U - 99 mins) Venue: St Ninian's Hall Cinema Watch trailer.
About Machars Movies
Machars Movies - bringing critically acclaimed award-winning films and a highly social cinema experience to the communities of the Machars. Back in January 2009, thanks to funding from Scottish Screen and an enormous amount of volunteer effort, we were able to move forward with the creation of Scotland’s most southerly cinema at the Isle of Whithorn. Five months later Machars Movies had become a reality. It’s hard to believe what has been achieved. Once again we have a very full programme for 2013, with two themed nights taking place, and these are certain to be extremely popular, so Advance Booking is strongly recommended. Look out for announcements giving more information about these and our participation in other local and regional arts festivals, when we plan to have extra screenings.
Our Objectives
To advance the knowledge, understanding and appreciation of film as an art form, and as a medium for education and information. We will also promote artistic and technical creativity in audio-visual techniques within our communities.
Machars Movies Team
We are extremely grateful to the many enthusiasts from communities in the south Machars who have agreed to be part of the team to take this project forward. The Committee for 2012 are:
- Douglas Ballantyne
- Byron Chamberlain
- Kirsty Currie (Chair)
- Ian Duncanson (Treasurer)
- Jeanette Duncanson (Secretary)
- Ian Fraser (Vice Chair)
- Hugh Jaques
- Michael Marshall
- Steve Robinson
- Linda Vickers
If you would like to contact or help us in any way at Machars Movies please call Jeanette Duncanson on 01988 500911.
Membership
Membership is open to anyone over the age of 16*, and costs £30. (Concessions £25). This will entitle you to attend all screenings in the 2012 programme at the privileged Members’ price of just £2.50 per show.
Guest tickets at the door will cost £6, and young persons' tickets £2.50. It's important to remember that seating at the Hall will be limited - so Membership will be similarly limited, and seat bookings will be on a first come, first served basis.
Membership forms and full programme details are available from:
- Isle of Whithorn (Post Office)
- Whithorn (The Whithorn Newsagent & The Library)
- Port William (The Paper Shop, South West Hardware & The Library)
- Garlieston (Mac's Stores)
- Wigtown (Box of Frogs, Machars Action & The Library)
You can also obtain membership packs from any Committee Member, or by downloading our current programme and Membership application form.
*To comply with the law, admission to screenings will be restricted according to the BBFC film rating.
We reserve the right to change the programme without notice.
How can I help?
- Join Machars Movies – become a Member, get to see some great films and enjoy being part of a social group!
- Maybe you’re as inspired as we are and can help us plan and run events!
- If you are interested in being part of a film-making group we’d also like to hear from you!
Machars Movies wins Best Rural Enterprise Award 2009
At a special reception held at the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh on 8th December, MACHARS MOVIES learned that it had received the Scottish Countryside Alliance ‘Best Rural Enterprise’ Award for 2009.
This small community cinema, the most southerly in Scotland at the Isle of Whithorn, and serving the small villages and towns of the Machars Peninsula in Wigtownshire came into being in April 2009, thanks to a grant from Scottish Screen’s Digital Projection Equipment Fund awarded last January. Coupled with further support funding from the Isle of Whithorn’s community Regeneration charity, Isle Futures; the Scottish Arts Council and Dumfries & Galloway Council’s Village Hall Improvement Scheme, and along with much voluntary labour, St Ninian’s Hall – the home of Machars Movies - is now an all-purpose venue complete with an 80-seat cinema.
It is one of 11 licensed Cinemas in Dumfries & Galloway, and following an inaugural season of well-attended monthly screenings, Machars Movies’ 2010 programme, selected by popular vote of the cinema’s patrons, has been drawn up. It will be launched on Thursday, December 10th, and full details can be found on the cinema website www.macharsmovies.co.uk
Entrants for the awards are nominated by the public and judged by a panel of experts who visited the companies and individuals shortlisted for the categories. Each of the categories highlights important elements of community life in rural Scotland, and each year the awards attract an increasing number of nominations.
Presenting the Awards, Mr John Lamont, MSP for Roxburgh & Berwickshire, said: “These awards recognise the hard work and innovation of businesses and organisations which are vital to rural Scotland.”
Mike Marshall, who is the Chair for Machars Movies, and Kenny Barr, Chair of Isle Futures, the community Regeneration Charity expressed their delight at the accolade: “Machars Movies and the Cinema facility that we now have has become a vital component in ensuring that a viable business can be developed around the community’s most vital social asset – its village hall. In the short space of eighteen months a run-down building has been taken over by the community and transformed into a venue with considerable business potential. But equally important, we are providing a new, highly social focus within the Machars where surrounding communities can participate and share in the great experience of the moving image. At last we can tap into the great wealth of material that is available for us all to see, to be entertained, and occasionally be challenged, no matter what age.
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