Going to the pictures in Powerstock has proved a box-office hit as the community cinema celebrates its first anniversary this week.

To mark the occasion, tomorrow night’s, May 3, film is the 2011 version of Jane Eyre.

Powerstock Community Cinema was set up last May, with funding support from the National Lottery, West Dorset District Council and a private donation.

The group held its own ‘red carpet’ event when Lord and Lady Julian and Emma Fellowes came to open the cinema and spent time chatting with and answering questions from a capacity audience.

In the year since the cinema, based at the Powerstock Hut, has held a screening on the first Thursday of every month, apart from one missed showing last November when the adjacent primary school was destroyed by fire.

Audience numbers regularly hit 40 filmgoers or more, with 50 people coming to see the most recent screening of My Week With Marilyn.

A website lists the upcoming programme, www.powerstock cinema.co.uk and a colour brochure is delivered to every home in the local parish every four months.

A committee of four – Sue Semmence, Megan Poole, Pam Guy and Adrian Semmence – select the films, with people able to put ideas in through the website or the brochure.

“The equipment is owned by the community and other events have been held including an evening of local films and a Home Guard evening as a fundraiser for Help for Heroes,” said Mr Semmence.

“This coming November we will be holding a Casablanca evening, celebrating 70 years since the film was made.

“We are still learning, but the current policy is to select modern, mainstream films, leaving suicidal black and white films in Croatian to others.”

For more details e-mail: info@powerstockcinema.co.uk