A NOSTALGIC nod to cinema shown on original film comes back for a new season at Shelley Theatre.

Dirt In The Gate is an initiative to project 35mm film onto the big screen by husband and wife team, Darren and Ruby Payne.

“I want to preserve a cinematic experience that will be lost forever,” says Darren. “The nostalgic feeling from seeing a film as it was meant to be seen has real authenticity as the world becomes comfortable with a digital format. There are bunkers over the world that store original film. It is my quest to bring these out and share with film lovers at Shelley Theatre.”

The new season of films starts tomorrow with The Pajama Game, one of the most popular films from the 1950s starring Doris Day.

September sees the third year of the popular Grindfest Festival. Vintage horror films from the 1970s to 1990s in their native release format.

“These are films that haven’t been released in the UK for many years. Over a two day period we bring out some classic films to take you back to being a kid again, “ says Darren.

“For this year’s Grindfest we have Tales From The Crypt - Demon Knight (1995), Suspiria (1977), The Return Of The Swamp Thing (1989), The Hidden (1987), Wicked, Wicked (1973), Razorback (1984) and Army Of Darkness (1992). Every film hand picked and ready to share from Friday, September 20 and Saturday 21.”

There will also be some cult and modern classics. Saturday, October 26 sees a timeless favourite in Rocky Horror Picture Show and Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time In Hollywood is being shown on 35mm film on November 28.

December celebrates 40 years since the release of Monty Python’s, Life Of Brian.

Christmas brings a holiday classic on Saturday, December 21, It’s A Wonderful Life with James Stewart (1946), voted by The Radio Times as the best Christmas film of all time.

Films to look forward to into 2020 include True Romance and for Valentine’s Day, Brief Encounter.

Darren is looking forward to the new season of films adding: “Let us keep the beauty of film alive and make it accessible to everyone.”

* To book any Dirt In The Gate film, visit shelleytheatre.co.uk or call the box office on 01202 413600