Once upon a time when I lived in
Leeds I’d spend every Friday fortnight at Leeds prettiest independent cinema;
The Hyde Park Picture House. This wonderful grade two listed building that opened
just after the outbreak of World War One holds many precious memories for me, and most people who choose to
study in Leeds. I remember back when I was in first year and the Leeds Film
Festival was on, my housemates and I walked through a pitch black Woodhouse
Moor is search of the mysterious Picture House that we’d all heard so much
about. We didn’t end up finding it that
night but I’m so glad we tried again and eventually stumbled upon this beautiful
building. From Creatures of the Night first dates (
The Re-animator, with about
15 other people besides my love) to bizarre documentaries (
The Act of Killing,
everyone should see it) the Picture House caters to all, young and old. One of
my favourite Picture House memories is working Frozen on a Saturday morning;
the cinema was full of young families with little girls dressed as princesses
of any Disney variety completely in awe of what they were watching on the
screen.
A fortnight ago the Hyde Park Picture House celebrated their 100th birthday and I was fortunate
enough to visit the lovely cinema that Friday evening with a couple of friends.
The day had been filled with Leeds International Film Festival films and the
last screening of the evening was an epic love story, Final Cut, ‘a film where anything can happen –
the hero and heroine changes their faces, age, look, names and so on’ (IMDB). The
film consists entirely of shots taken from other films, a clever montage of
clips from anything like The Graduate to a Charlie Chaplin movie which were
strung together for an overarching, all-encompassing love story that captivated
the audience at the Picture House on such a special night.
Two weeks later and I’m still reeling at how
special The Hyde Park Picture House is to me, I miss it as if it were a person I've been forced to separate from. I remember my first shift there
so poignantly, my big love and I had just broken up and I was left bereft by
the situation. I worked behind the food counter serving popcorn on that Friday
night (which would become my regular shift) and for the first time in days my
head was able to think of something other than the heartache I was feeling. I
sat in the cinema alone that night and watched Pegg’s The World’s End, giggling
occasionally to myself. I saw many more films alone after that night and
relished how the Picture House was a safe and comforting place to do this. Of
course I went with friends too; another one of my favourite memories was watching
The Artist on New Year’s Day with a group of fragile feeling friends. Shortly
after I’d graduated and was feeling somewhat lost in a post uni haze I saw
Frances Ha which filled me with hope at my future rather than the quiet despair
I’d been battling against. I could go on forever about all the movies I’ve been
lucky enough to catch at the Picture House, from Tyrannosaur to Saving Mr.
Banks , this cinema means the world to me for all the happy memories I have
there. I hope whoever is serving the popcorn there tonight enjoys it as much as
I did.
