MAGIC HOURS* is a film heritage project Feb-July 2023 reaching across Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate, exploring and celebrating film, cinemas and other places to see film from the 1890s to the present day.
Have you got a local cinema memory to share?
What have been your special cinema experiences in local cinemas? Whether the Odeon Ramsgate in the ‘50s, the Plaza Margate in the ‘60s, the Windsor Broadstairs in the ‘70s, or the Vue WWX last week, we’re collecting memories from audiences and cinema workers past and present. The memories will be safely collected by the Palace as a local cinema archive and may, with your permission, be used as part of in film heritage events in the future.
There are 4 ways to share your memories:
- In writing – Click here to open our online questionnaire.
- In writing – See bottom of this page for questionnaire to print out and send in, or please pick one up from the cinema.
- In writing – Email us at the cinema info@thepalacecinema.co.uk
- In person – Come along to a drop-in recording session where we can audio record your memories; we ran six of these in libraries and cafes at the end of February, more coming up in the summer!
MAGIC HOURS – the project so far
In Feb-April 2023 we started researching, collecting cinema memories and presented screenings, events and walking tours.
Magic Hours Walking Tours: Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate have been sitting back to marvel at the magic of moving pictures ever since they were invented. Walking Tours explored the actual locations and amazing stories behind the three town’s cinemas and other places to see a film, from converted sheds to glorious purpose-built art deco super cinemas, 1890s to today! Tours were led by the wonderful Margate-based actor and creative producer Naomi Cooper-Davis, swapping the cobbles of Coronation Street for the pavements of Thanet to bring our hidden history to life.
Magic Hours Events: Programmed in collaboration with students from Broadstairs College, we presented two events in each town. At the Palace we welcomed Gabrielle Lindemann, Kent’s Film Officer to talk about locations work of Kent Film Office before a screening of indie romcom filmed in Broadstairs, JULIET, NAKED (2017) + vintage Broadstairs publicity film, plus an illustrated talk also offered online ‘ Cinemas, Halls, Cafés & Outdoors: Where to watch a film in Broadstairs, Margate or Ramsgate, 1890s-today’; At the Tom Thumb Theatre Margate we started the day with A Happy Crowd Are We! A Children’s Cinema Club Show cartoon and serial, snacks and club song, followed later with stunning and rarely screened drama filmed in Margate LAST RESORT (2000) + a vintage Margate publicity film; At Ramsgate Music Hall we kicked off with ‘Come to Broadstairs, Margate and Ramsgate! Our towns in home movies and publicity films 1930s-‘70s’, followed in the evening by a rare screening of Michael Caine, plus guest appearance from Ramsgate Hoverport, in THE BLACK WINDMILL (1974) + vintage Ramsgate publicity film.
Magic Hours – Collecting cinema memories
We’re looking for audiences and cinema workers across generations, covering cinema memories 1940s – present! Four ways to take part:
- Online questionnaire (click here to link to it)
- Paper questionnaire (attached to this page, or pick one up from the cinema)
- Email us at info@thepalacecinema.co.uk
- Come along to a drop-in recording session where we can audio record your memories; we ran six of these in libraries and cafes at the end of February, more coming up soon!
The Palace MAGIC HOURS Project is supported by the National Lottery through the BFI Film Audience Network
*Why is it called ‘Magic Hours’?!
‘Magic hour’ is a name sometimes given to the brief, bright, golden sky at dawn and twilight. It’s a time famously loved and used by cinematographers from Jack Cardiff (THE RED SHOES) to Joshua James Richards (NOMADLAND) and by painters like Turner! This project is all about the wonder and magic of that time looking up at the bright screen immersed in the films that we love, and the passion and commitment that goes into making and screening them.
