FUNDING NEWS - Phoenix has secured major BFI National Lottery funding! 📣
We're delighted to announce that we have been awarded £555,000 from the BFI National Lottery Audience Projects Fund 2026-29 to engage new and diverse audiences, expand our Access Cinema programme, and launch our new Green Screen programme focused on environmental sustainability.
This funding will support a major audience development project to engage underrepresented communities across Leicester, working in partnership with co-curators and local organisations to diversify programming and build community relationships to grow and retain new audiences for independent cinema and film culture.
The 3-year award will also support Phoenix as we move forward with key initiatives that will raise our national profile as a sector leader in accessible cinema, community engagement and environmental stewardship.
Phoenix CEO Sarah Vallance says:
"Phoenix is grateful to BFI for their continued support for our work to make cinema accessible to everyone through a range of initiatives to reach underrepresented communities, some of whom may face specific barriers to their engagement. Support from BFI is instrumental in ensuring that Phoenix can continue to play an important role in the UK’s independent cinema sector, and we are pleased to have received this funding alongside other major independent cinemas across the UK – including our East Midlands neighbours at Broadway (Nottingham) and QUAD (Derby)."
Read more via the link in our bio
📸 - @tom_platinum_morley
NEW EXHIBITION THIS FRIDAY 🏞🔊
@amaalsaid 's film Open Country follows a Somali mother and daughter who set out from their London home along Old Kent Road, tracing the Pilgrims' Way into Bexley, North Kent, and beyond.
The daughter plans to record an audio cassette diary for her grandmother, who is back home in Somalia and in ill health. Hoping to ease her mother's worries, she uses the journey to bring joy and help her focus on the road ahead.
📅 Opens this Friday
🎟 Free, Gallery
Join us for our FREE exhibition launch of Friday, from 6pm which will include a short talk from the artist, plus a dry drinks reception. 🗣
Commissioned for The Open Road by @filmandvideoumbrella , @formaartsmedia and @threeriversbexley . Supported using public funding by @aceagrams .
The Open Road is commissioned by Film and Video Umbrella, The Amelia Scott, Cement Fields, FLAMIN, Forma, and Three Rivers. Supported using public funding by Arts Council England.
Our own sheep detective is on the case!! 🔍
Coming to see THE SHEEP DETECTIVES this weekend? Don't forget to snap a photo with our newest team member. 🐑📸
Tag us in your photo to be in with the chance of winning a FREE FAMILY CINEMA TRIP at Phoenix during the summer holidays. 🎟
Created by artist and Duty Manager @jonattfieldart , our woolly friend also needs a name - and we need your help choosing! So far, we have...
🐑 Baabara Streisand
🐑 Ewen McGregor
🐑 Rambo
🐑 Baarry Keoghan
🐑 Woolly Harrelson
Or a bit of a rogue one for us... Ben Shepherd
Comment your fave or pop your name suggestions below ⬇
📅 THE SHEEP DETECTIVES (starring Ewe *cough Hugh* Jackman) screens at your local indie daily
Tickets 🎟 available via the link in our bio
Best day of the week! 🙌
We've got extra times of The Devil Wears Prada 2, Primavera and Our Land.
NEW from today...
🐑 The Sheep Detectives
🖼 The Christophers
🇯🇵 Kokuho
💘 Obsession
Join our friends @someanticsleicester Spoken Word in The Nest tonight with feature set from Pete the Temp, open mic, guest DJ Mojo and raffle.
Don't miss Napalm Death's @shanenapalm tonight for an in-conversation event! Shane will also be signing copies of his illustrated memoir 'Life? And Napalm Death' after Q&A. 🎸📚
Think you can handle 794 minutes in our biggest screen? Spend the day in Middle Earth with Peter's Jackson beloved trilogy at our LORD OF THE RINGS all-dayer tomorrow! 💍
Wajda's most lyrical and poetic work, THE MAIDS OF WILKO screens this Sunday as part of our Andrzej Wajda centenary.
To celebrate David Attenborough's 100th birthday, we present stunning doc OCEAN WITH DAVID ATTENBOROUGH this Sunday. 🌊🦀🪸
Tickets 🎟 via the link in our bio
AN ICON ✨
In June, we celebrate the centenary of Marilyn Monroe's birth with a season of her work - from some of her greatest comedy performances to often underseen dramatic roles.
Films screening...
💦 Niagara
Mon 1 Jun, 6.15pm
💰 How to Marry a Millionaire
Sun 7 Jun, 3pm
🐎 The Misfits
Thu 11 Jun, 7.30pm
👗 The Seven Year Itch
Sun 14 Jun, 3pm
💎 Gentlemen Prefer Blondes + Drag Performance
Sat 20 Jun, 6.30pm
🎻 Some Like It Hot
Mon 29 Jun, 7pm
Tickets 🎟 on sale now via the link in our bio
❤️🔥 Guillermo del Toro ❤️🔥
OBSESSED with this new artwork for Guillermo del Toro's debut, screening at Phoenix in a 4K restoration later this month.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Radio Times
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Empire
When an antiques dealer discovers an ancient artefact, he is unaware of the power it holds. While the parasite inside the device grants eternal life to its new host, it also causes an extreme aversion to daylight and an unquenchable thirst for human blood.
📅 CRONOS screens Fri 22 May
🎟 Tickets on sale now
🍿 ON SALE NOW 🍿
Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve star in BACKROOMS - screening at Phoenix from Fri 29 May
🎟 Tickets on sale now via the link in our bio
Restored in 4K, the ULTIMATE melt movie is back on the big screen!! 🫠🍻
📅 STREET TRASH screens Fri 29 May, 9.30pm
🎟 Tickets via the link in our bio
Dripping in technicolour slime, this '80s cult classic follows the owner of a liquor store as he finds a case of cheap booze in the basement. More than 60 years old and definitely past its sell-by date, he sells it to the locals anyway. Little does he know anyone who drinks it melts away hideously...
@lightbulb_films@cqlates
Be careful WHO you wish for! 😍
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Bloody Disgusting
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Radio Times
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Discussing Film
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Flickering Myth
When a music store employee finds a mysterious trinket that promises to grant any wish, he selfishly uses it to make his friend Nikki fall in love with him. Grave consequences come with meddling in affairs of the heart, with his new sweetheart bewitched with a violent and monstrous obsession... 🩸
📅 OBSESSION screens from Fri 15 May
Tickets 🎟 ON SALE NOW
Well. That happened. 🥹🎨🎶
C3’s Saturday Service delivered & Leicester creatives, you lot are something else 🫶🤗
Highlights included:
Some of the best dressed people
Independent makers being brilliant and yes — when one got too hot, manual fanning for optimal pit-ventilation was fully engaged. Grassroots means all hands on deck. 🪭 🪭 🪭
Big love to @wormsalt_ bringing the vinyl & live beats… en pointe, as always 😎💃🏼🕺🏽
Our very talented Creative Corner artist painted the DJs.. if that’s not collab, we don’t know what is 👀; @pvnpaints made our brand make sense 🤝
Every single maker and shopper who showed up and brought the feels 🙌 thankyouuuuuuuuu🙏🏽
This is what C3 is — creatives supporting creatives. 🫶A space to promote, sell, connect and be seen
Join us next time.
📍 The Nest, Phoenix Cinema, Leicester
🗓️ Next date: Saturday 11th July, 12–16:00
🎟️ Free Entry — follow for more ⛪️🧰
Leicester, we hope you're ready for our Lord of the Rings: Extended Editions all-dayer this Saturday!! 🎟
Think you could last 794 minutes in Screen 1? Spend the day in Middle Earth with Peter Jackson's beloved trilogy - expect food/ drink specials, raffles plus a costume competition with epic prizes to win. 🧝🏻♂️💍
Choose between...
🎟 All-dayer ticket £25
☕️ Second Breakfast £30 (includes pastry + unlimited tea/coffee)
🥧 Samwise Special £40* (includes pie lunch, pastry + unlimited tea/coffee) - JUST 9 TICKETS LEFT for this one!!
📅 Sat 16 May, from 11am
*Samwise Special ticketholders can enjoy a top-notch homemade pie in the Green Dragon (usually known as our Café Bar) for lunch, menu includes...
🥔 Prancing Pony pie
A comforting classic - steak & ale pie with mash po-ta-toes, seasonal veg and gravy
🥬 Green Dragon pie (V)
Hearty cauliflower, spinach and lentil pie with mash po-ta-toes, seasonal veg and gravy
Tickets 🎟 via the link in our bio
📸 @bethplastic_ from last year's all-dayer
Industry talk 🎥🗣
Three creatives chat about their current practices, the choice they've been making, and the direction they wish to go in for our next @platformleics event.
📅 Fri 29 May, 6.30pm
PLATFORM started as a series of events for Leicester creatives to meet, share work and learn from people already working in the industry. Over the last 18 months, we've held short film showcases, pitching nights, idea development and talks with writers, directors, art critics, producers and more.
Current funding for PLATFORM has come to an end, but before we figure out what happens next, we wanted to thank everyone who has been involved in the project! We hope this is the start of another chapter, and want the people who've built this community to help shape wherever it goes next. 🙌
Tickets 🎟 £4 via the link in our bio
BTS image courtesy of Diva Rodriguez 'Surprise, Baby!' 2024 Dir Zane Igbe
