Always on
This project successfully funded on 5th December 2025, you can still support them with a donation.
Lumiere Cinema Romford (Phase 2)
Romford, Greater London, United Kingdom
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Aim
Our goal is to create space for community groups and organisations and to build a stage in one of the auditoriums.
In 2025, the Romford Film Trust was founded with a singular mission: to save a beloved community cinema in Romford. Our initial crowdfunding campaign successfully raised £31,000, which was enough to get the doors open in March 2025. While this was a monumental achievement, we did not raise enough to fully realize our long-term vision for a fully accessible and multi-functional arts space.
Over the past six months, we’ve worked tirelessly to make significant improvements. Thanks to donations from organizations like Google and local businesses, we've adapted and modified the venue for our customers.
Here is what the venue looked like before we took it on. And I guess our origin story.
Our Remaining Core Projects
While we're open and thriving, there are four fundamental capital projects that are essential to securing the cinema's future as a vibrant community hub. We need your help to address these:
Permanent Stage in Screen Eight: To install a permanent stage, making the space fully usable for live events, performances, and conferences.
Community Hall Conversion: To convert Screen Six into a dedicated, flexible community hall.
Essential Disabled Lift: To install a disabled lift, ensuring both levels of the cinema are fully accessible. While the cinema has one accessible entrance, this lift is required for free movement throughout the entire building.
Accessible Unisex Toilets: To convert our existing toilet facilities into accessible, modern unisex units with full ceiling-to-floor partitioning for enhanced privacy.
Once our charity is formally established for a year, completing these core projects will allow us to apply for significant capital funding from various arts and cultural organizations, truly making our long-term vision a reality. Furthermore, we will soon be able to reclaim a substantial amount of VAT on purchases already made for the cinema.
Heres our story so far since we opened….
Phase Two: The Festive Fundraiser
This is the start of our second phase of fundraising, but with the doors now open, we are changing our format. This campaign is timed for the holiday season, offering pledge rewards that are perfect as Christmas gifts—for loved ones, or for yourself!
With the exception of one, all rewards for this crowdfunder will be redeemable in time for Christmas.
* The Private Hire Option will be redeemable from January 1st onwards. This is simply because our Christmas schedule is so packed that there is no available space to hire out screens ahead of the festive period.
Our Goal and the £18,000 Match
While we need to raise the remaining £70,000 to complete all four projects, our goal for this campaign is to raise £50,000.
If we can successfully raise this amount to complete either the permanent stage or the community hall conversion, we can unlock a further £18,000 in matched funding from a partnering organization. This match is dependent on us creating a space fully usable for their conferences and awards events. Our current setup is functional, but the completed project would create the ideal, high-standard venue they require.
Progress to Date
We’ve made significant changes already. Here is a snapshot of what your previous support has achieved:
* Sound Systems: Four screens feature 7.1 Surround Sound, and the remaining screens have had all faulty functionality repaired and operate with 5.1 Surround Sound.
* Projector Upgrades: New light engines have been installed in some projectors.
* Maintenance & Safety: All existing toilets have been repaired/replaced, a full health and safety updating system has been introduced, and nine skips of waste left by the previous tenant have been cleared.
* Venue Improvements: The entire reception area has been painted, and all broken seats in the screens have been repaired or replaced.
What Makes Lumiere Different?
We are more than just a cinema. We break with usual conventions to create a unique arts and community space:
* Diverse Programming: We show a dynamic mix of major new releases, independent films, international cinema, and classics.
* Curated Seasons: We host film seasons normally found only in central London, including retrospectives of David Lynch, Michael Haneke, Studio Ghibli, and a current screening of the 100 Greatest Horror Films.
* Community Wellness: We hold regular film festivals, conventions, and wellness sessions in conjunction with local organizations, from creative writing workshops to Sound Baths.
Our Community Commitment
We are dedicated to being a resource for the community, providing the following essential services:
* Free Screenings: Complimentary film screenings for the over 60s on Thursday mornings.
* Accessibility: Regular relaxed screenings for those with neurodiversity and hard-of-hearing screenings. We have also increased disabled access in all screens.
* Community Space: We provide free space for community groups and host a number of community and charity events.
* Support for Filmmakers: We give small filmmakers space to show their work—an opportunity that can cost thousands in similar venues.
* Free Resources: Free sanitary products are available in our ladies' and disabled facilities. Starting in November, we will offer free hot-desking spaces for local workers who are normally home-based.
* Parent & Baby Sessions: We host regular sessions tailored for parents and their babies.
* Safe Space: We are proud to provide a safe, quiet space for people to relax and simply be themselves.
Please pledge today and help us complete the final pieces of the puzzle to make the Lumiere the cultural landmark our community deserves!
Funding method
Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made