FILM star Edward Fox was at Dorset’s oldest cinema to salute the volunteers who have been running it for a decade.

The actor – known for The Day of the Jackal, The Go-Between and Gandhi – is president of Wareham’s Rex and joined in with a celebratory event on Sunday.

The Rex, built as the Oddfellows Hall, is thought to have begun showing films in 1921.

It was bought in 2009 by the Purbeck Film Charitable Trust, which has recently refurbished the venue and kitted it out with a state of the art digital projector and Dolby 7.1 sound.

Sunday saw the anniversary marked by two screenings of Cinema Paradiso, the 1988 Oscar winner about a boy’s love of a cinema in a Sicilian village.

Mr Fox told the audience: “Foxes have known the Rex for many years. We’ve seen it through ups and downs, good times and less good times.”

He said the venue had sometimes been “on the brink of being unable to continue”, but he had never seen its fortunes in a healthier condition than they were now.

“What the Rex represent is an important and noble purpose. That purpose is to give pleasure,” he said.

He saluted those who had preserved the Rex – and “most especially the volunteer workforce because their work will set the template for those who follow on from them”.

David Evans, chair of the Purbeck Film Charitable Trust, showed the audience the front page of the Swanage and Wareham Advertiser from a decade ago, when the Rex was up for sale.

A reference in that article to the sale being a “Cinema Paradiso opportunity” helped inspire the choice of film for the 10th anniversary.

He thanked the previous owners, who had imposed a covenant to ensure that the Rex would remain a cinema – effectively keeping the purchase price down so that the trust could afford it.

He also thanked waste management company Viridor, which provided a large grant for the purchase, as well as all the fundraisers and volunteers who rallied round.

There was still work to do, with the venue especially keen to upgrade its stair lift and its toilets and to provide a bigger bar.

Supporters at the anniversary event watched a time-lapse film of the cinema’s auditorium being upgraded, with each of its 130 seats refurbished.