A boutique cinema that was built by a Scots businessman as his "gift" to a Highland town, has been named the best in the UK three years after opening.
Millionaire businessman and author Angus MacDonald footed the entire cost for an independent cinema in Fort William,in Lochaber, the area where he grew up.
The town had been without one for 15 years before it opened in 2020.
Highland Cinema was named cinema of the year, in the 24 screens or under category, at the Big Screen Awards, which were held on Thursday night in London.
Judges look for evidence of how cinemas connect with and serve their community, innovation and/or ambition around programming, and ticket sales performance.
The cinema was described as "an impressive site which stands out for its local initiatives" and goes above and beyond to serve the community.
Run by a small local team, the venue also has, weekly cultural talks and quizzes, live music and other events.
Mr MacDonald, who now lives near Arisaig and is a Highland councillor, said research had shown that the two things that can help regenerate struggling high streets are a cinema and a bookshop, which he also opened in Fort William.
The two-screen cinema was designed by Glasgow and Skye-based architect Dualchas in the style of a traditional black house and also includes a restaurant and events space.
MOST READ:
'Glut of outdoor clothing shops is prioritising tourists over local needs'
Historic Highland hotel extension plans halted by Scottish Parliament ruling
Glencoe cottage 'reclaimed' from grim past to honour celebrated mountaineer
A red Lotus Elan was specially commissioned for the cinema.
Cinema owner and director Angus MacDonald said, “This is the most fantastic thing for the Highland Cinema, for the people of Fort William and Lochaber, and for all our wonderful and enthusiastic staff.
"It really mattered to me to have something which people were very proud of in the area. Somewhere they could say to their friends, this is a fantastic place to go in our town.”
Phil Clapp, chief executive of the UK Cinema Association said: “The Highland Cinema was unanimously chosen as cinema of the year by a panel of fellow smaller cinema operators, all of whom recognised the impact the venue has clearly had in such a short time and the extent to which it has been so wholeheartedly embraced by the local community.
"We often talk about the social, cultural and economic value that a cinema can bring to an area – the Highland Cinema is as good an example as any of just that impact."
Mr MacDonald is the author of series of historical novels based around the Ardnish peninsula in the West Highlands. He made his money buying and selling four major Scottish companies.
In 2019 he sold an Edinburgh-based waste management firm in a reported £25.8 million deal and was awarded an OBE for services to the Highlands.
His son, Angus, jointly owns the Highland Soaps Company, which opened a multi-million pound factory in Fort William in 2020.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here