As a passionate lover of films and a life long resident of Walthamstow in East London, I wanted to bring to your attention and gather some more support to an incredible battle that has gone on for around seven years to save our local cinema that was sold to the controversial Universal Church of The Kingdom of God (UCKG), an international religious organisation, which plans to convert the venue into a place of worship. The battle has been led by the McGuffin Film and Television Society that have battled so long and so hard for years to save the wonderful cinema.

Walthamstow EMD Cinema isn’t your regular cinema. It is so full of amazing history, It was Walthamstow’s first dedicated full time cinema in 1907 and was a haunt for a young Alfred Hitchcock who lived nearby. The Beatles, Jerry Lee Lewis, The Rolling Stones, The Kinks, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Scott Walker, The Who, Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison and amazingly Frank Sinatra all performed there. The interior was designed by the famous Russian stage designer Theodore Komisarjevsky and the look and feel of it was just wonderful with a gorgeous interior (See below) and wonderful atmosphere that is lacking from almost every cinema in the UK and and all of it will be destroyed if UCKG get what they want.

The Walthamstow Cinema has been scheduled by English Heritage as a Grade 2 Listed Building in recognition of its outstanding architectural and cultural significance. The wonderful cinema is also the only British venue which retains an original Christie theatre organ and is a surely a place that has to be saved for the sake of cinema history.

The Mcguffin group have worked so hard to save our cinema and if you could spare a few minutes of your time to show your support at their McGuffin save the cinema news site here and hopefully this historical cinema can be saved.

The McGuffin Film Society have also invited all the area’s parliamentary and council candidates to attend an upcoming event and make their views known about the fate of the historic cinema. They are urging all cinema supporters to join them at this important meeting so they can hear first hand what local politicians will do to help save the cinema if elected. There will also be the opportunity to ask questions and share ideas about the future of this much loved local landmark and unique cultural asset.

It will take place Sunday 25 April from 5pm at Walthamstow School for Girls, Church Hill, Walthamstow. All welcome.

If you want to watch a short documentary about the history of the cinema there is one on IMDb here. There are also some news stories on the site detailing the passion and support for the cinema including from celebrities like Sir Mick Jagger, Tony Benn, Tony Robinson, Alan Davies and more.

Thanks for reading and if you have a passion for cinema history then I hope you will show your support.