Hollywood hits home: Forth Valley village gets its very own community cinema

The Macrobert Moviehouse, located in the Balfour Community Centre, in Balfour Crescent, will screen all the latest film releases, bringing a full cinema experience right to the doorstep of the local community of the former mining village.

Operating on a part-time basis, the venue will screen films on Thursday and Friday evenings and all-day Saturday and Sunday. It has twenty seats, with tickets available on a “Pay What You Choose” basis, with prices starting from £4.50.

The cinema programme will share content with Macrobert Arts Centre’s own University of Stirling-based cinema, as well as regular film selections from the local programming groups created as part of the project.

Community selected films will be among the titles shown over Moviehouse’s opening weekend – Thursday, October 5 to Sunday 8 October. There will be a soft opening of the cinema from Thursday 28 September for staff, friends and members of the community who have helped realise this project.

The planning, approach and the project management was made possible through Screen Scotland’s Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas, backed by the Scottish Government and the support of the village’s community trust, Plean’s Voice.

Robert McWilliam, Plean’s Voice chairman, said: “Plean’s Voice was still in development when we first heard about the Macrobert Moviehouse project, but we knew from the outset we were going to make this a success for Plean and the Eastern Villages.

"After the early hard work by Macrobert and Stirling Council, we were delighted to be invited to help with the ongoing planning and running of the project. We are already looking at the future and how to fund and manage the project in the long term.

"Macrobert Moviehouse will be a huge boost to the Plean revival, bringing additional social activity for people of all ages as well as employment opportunities. There will be hard work ahead but we believe that Plean can do it.”

Julie Ellen, Artistic Director of Macrobert Arts Centre said: “Right from the start the people of Plean have been so positive and keen for something special to happen for the area they live in and love. Many locals have stories of all the things that used to happen at the Balfour Centre and how sorry they are that it has been so underused in recent years. The pandemic highlighted the challenges of life in Stirling’s eastern villages including the high cost of public transport, limited access to shops and social activities but also galvanised some wonderful local people into action with food distribution projects, Stay and Play events and other important social activities. Macrobert has delivered creative projects in this area many times over the years but this one is really special, a genuine partnership with some inspiring people. We have made many new friends, and Plean is so dear to our hearts now that we cannot wait to see the Moviehouse open.”