My love of cinema, both the medium and the physical space, is well known to those close to me. In a previous post I’ve mentioned how it’s not uncommon for me to head straight to my favourite picture house after work. It is a compulsion at this point.
I realise that for most people going to the cinema is a rare treat these days, an occasional night out perhaps combined with a nice meal and drinks. When I go, it is because I want to watch something. It is not paired with a social obligation. This helps me keep costs low—my only expense being the price of the ticket.
The cinema I frequent the most is the Queen’s Film Theatre, an independent outfit attached to the prestigious Queen’s University in Belfast. It is the best cinema in Northern Ireland by my reckoning, not for any impressive technical credentials, but for the quality of the programming alone. You don’t go to QFT to watch the latest blockbusters, rather, it’s an eclectic and exciting selection of smaller independent films that give the place its signature charm. They frequently host “seasons” and festivals, with films chosen around a certain theme.
A few years ago, I emailed the manager and asked if they could give me a tour of the projection booths. They were quite happy to do so. The projectionist, Simeon, accompanied and explained the inner workings of film and digital projection in great detail. I will never forget that day.
I always feel welcome at QFT. My Letterboxd stats tell me that I’ve watched 111 films there in 2024, 109 in 2025, and 72 so far in 2026.
For the bigger spectacles and cinematic events, there is the IMAX screen at Cineworld. It is the third largest IMAX screen in the UK, housing a digital projector capable of 1.90:1 presentation. While you may (correctly) argue that it is not the Full IMAX ExperienceTM, the large screen still makes for an enjoyable viewing experience for most films released in the format.
In 2024, I had watched 22 films at Cineworld (11 of them in IMAX), 21 in 2025 (17 in IMAX) and 14 so far in 2026 (4 in IMAX).
This year, for the first time, I witnessed a film in IMAX 70mm at the BFI IMAX in London. Our London trip (about which I wrote a blog post a few days ago) was planned around this—perhaps the most expensive trip to the cinema in history. I had asked for a tour of the 70mm projection booth, but BFI politely declined. I was disappointed but I understood their reasoning. The cinema has been hosting sold-out, back-to-back screenings of The Odyssey for weeks; they couldn’t have spared the time.
Even without the aforementioned social obligations threatening to part me with my hard-earned wages, it should come as no surprise that these trips, based on frequency alone, come with a price tag. I don’t claim to be rational in partaking in this hobby. There is no use in trying to rationalise what is primarily a means of satiating an emotional need. Film is magical; no price tag can capture its worth.
The movies are like a machine that generates empathy. It lets you understand a little bit differently what it’s like to be a group of people you wouldn't otherwise know, and then it takes you out of your own mind... and it helps us to identify with the people who share this planet with us.
—Roger Ebert
