The birthplace of British cinema

The university is lucky enough to have a cinema at its Regent Street Campus. And not just any old cinema, but the space which is acknowledged as the birthplace of British cinema.

In 1896 the Lumière brothers’ demonstrated their Cinématographe screen in a theatre at The Polytechnic, the direct forerunner of the current University of Westminster. This was the first performance of moving image to a paying British audience.

The University still occupies the same building at 309 Regent Street (where I am currently based) and the cinema is undergoing a major restoration. It will be complete in the spring of this year and will be open to the public as a state-of-the-art auditorium and an arts venue for screenings, lectures, workshops and events.

Read more about the cinema project here:  http://www.birthplaceofcinema.com/