Central London is about to get a brand-new DIY cinema – entirely funded by film fans

Named after silent era moving picture venues, London’s newest cinema The Nickel has found a permanent home in Clerkenwell.

The cinema will open in early summer with a 35-seater screen dedicated to the ‘grindhouse spirit’, which will encapsulate the bizarre, the sensational, subversive, psychotronic and rebellious, from the silent age all the way to the modern YouTube era. One night you could be watching El Topo and Eraserhead, the next a series of Adult Swim shorts with the director himself in for a Q&A. 

Those attending a screening can grab a drink to debrief in the venue’s basement bar. The cinema will boast its own physical media emporium, where cinema lovers can pick up soundtracks, posters, books, and even movies to rent and buy in a Blockbuster-style throwback. The Nickel plans to slowly expand from film screenings to live performances and a zine, and it will offer the space for creative work and discussion groups, as well as filmmaking workshops on how to shoot on 16mm film. 

The cinema is located on Clerkenwell Road and its exact opening date will be announced in the coming weeks. 

The Nickel founder Dom Hicks has travelled the globe as a result of his love for global repertory cinemas, from London's Prince Charles Cinema and the ICA to the Cine Doré in Madrid and The New Beverley in Los Angeles.

For him, The Nickel is a place to offer a film that you may never have heard of but where you end up walking out with a new all-time favourite. ‘It’s like when you go to a good record shop,’ he says, ‘you leaf through the bins and some artwork catches your eye. That might be your new favourite album. We want to do that with our cinema and our space.’

The Nickel encourages anyone interested to get involved in the cinema’s programming or a request to screen a short or a feature to contact them on their website, keeping in with the cinema’s cult spirit.

At a time where even historical institutions like the Prince Charles Cinema’s future seem in the balance, entirely crowdfunded venues like The Nickel demonstrate just how passionate London’s cinema scene is, and how important it is to those living within it. 

Head to The Nickel’s Instagram for listings info.

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