Rural Cinema: Film Exhibition and Consumption in Australia and the United Kingdom

Abstract

This thesis investigates the contexts of film exhibition and consumption in contemporary rural Australia and the United Kingdom (UK). As the site of most detailed fieldwork, Australia forms the primary focus of the investigation, while information gathered in the UK provides material for contextualisation and comparative analysis. The public screening of films takes place in a wide variety of settings in rural areas of Australia and the UK. These range from modern multi-screen venues operating in large regional centres, through to older-style twin and single screen cinemas found in smaller places. In very small and remote settlements, where film exhibition is generally not viable on a commercial basis, screenings are held in purpose-built and make-shift facilities by local councils, community cooperatives, film societies and a few small-scale entrepreneurs. As a commercial enterprise, the fortunes of film exhibitors are closely tied to wider economic and demographic trends. Over recent decades there has been a significant increase in the overall number of multiplexes in rural areas. However, this growth has taken place almost exclusively in large settlements, where it has been underpinned by broader increases in industrial activity, employment and population, as well as the rise in cinema-going frequency since the mid 1980s. In smaller, relatively stable towns, scaled-down single and twin screen cinemas are regularly able to survive and sometimes prosper. But in areas of social and economic decline film enterprises can be highly marginal concerns. For smaller operators adaptation and innovation are often key skill requirements. Initiatives such as in-house movie clubs, low ticket prices, and efforts to personalise patrons’ film-going experiences all form an important part of their marketing strategies. For other cinemas the secret to longevity can centre around creating a sub-commercial operating structure, one which allows the enterprise to utilise financial support mechanisms such as government funding and volunteer labour.