A Fife teenager has launched a fundraising campaign in a bid to save her local cinema.
The Kino Cinema in Glenrothes is approaching its 10th anniversary later this month, but Covid-19 restrictions are presenting challenges to its business.
Local girl Emily Donaldson, 17, has started her own GoFundMe page to prevent the Kino from becoming another coronavirus casualty.
She said: “The Kino brought people, but more importantly, life back to Glenrothes.
“Without help it is at risk of closure for good.
“It would be sorely missed if it had to close.
“It is an amazing place ran by amazing people and loved by all.”
The picture house on Church Street was known as Glenrothes Cinema until it closed in the late 90s.
Entrepreneur Graeme Reekie took the project on and transformed the building into a modern movie lover’s paradise.
It officially re-opened its doors as the Kino on October 22, 2010.
Like cinemas everywhere, it had to close during lockdown. It is currently open with enhanced cleaning and social distancing measures in place. However, the recent Scottish Government guidelines on the sale of alcoholic drinks has meant they are not available at the Glenrothes or Leven sites.
New figures suggests UK cinema admissions are likely to hit their lowest level since records began almost a century ago, as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic knocks almost £1bn from box office sales.
Attendance this year will be about 75% down on the 176m admissions in 2019, one of the best years in decades.
Emily’s proud dad Gavin said he hoped everyone would get behind his daughter’s drive to keep the Kino.
“As a family we all love going to the cinema and miss being able to go in the current climate,” he said.
“When the initial lockdown happened, we were worried that the Kino would not reopen.
“Just as it started to get back on its feet, more lockdown woes occurred and it risks closure again.
“Emily wanted to try and do her bit to keep the cinema open so thought about raising some funds,” he added.
“The Kino is a wonderful wee cinema, with excellent staff, right on our doorstep. It is great competition for the big cinemas, like Odeon, and is very well priced.
“It would be a shame if the lack of customers, lack of new releases, and tighter Covid controls all contributed to the Kino shutting its doors for good.”
Neil Hume, general manager of the Kino Glenrothes, said it had been a challenging time for the industry and thanked Emily for her support.
“We’re glad to see there’s people out there who want us to remain open,” he said.
“It’s been difficult with a lot of films being pushed back, and we could have done with the likes of the new James Bond film coming out as planned, just to get people in to see films they want to see.
“It’s been fairly steady in recent weeks, although obviously not as busy as it usually is over the school holidays, but hopefully this will help get more people to support us.”
Emily’s fundraiser is well on its way to hitting her initial £500 target.
