'Angels' wanted by Wolverhampton Light House cinema

Wolverhampton's independent Light House Cinema is on the look out for 'Angels' to support its new fundraising campaign.

Light House is launching a campaign to raise money to help fund a full upgrade of its cinema screens to digital in order to safeguard its position as Wolverhampton's only independent cinema for the future.

The project, run through the new online crowdfunding platform Angelshares, provides people with the opportunity to buy Angelshares and donate them to a worthy arts project in return for rewards from the organisation.

Light House, as an independent cinema, faces an uncertain future as more and more film releases are being made available in a digital format rather than on 35mm film.

Without funding to fully upgrade its projection equipment to digital, Light House will be unable to cater for the needs of local and regional audiences and show the wealth of new and classic releases it currently offers.

Light House is looking to raise £7,500 towards the cost of this project and is inviting Angels to donate from as little as £1. Visit http://angelshares.com or www.light-house.co.uk for further information or contact Light House Box Office on 01902 716055.

The cinema landscape has changed dramatically in the last 10 years with the digital revolution. The UK has been at the forefront in the switch to digital cinema, with the UK Film Council launching the Digital Screen Network of 210 cinemas across the country in 2005.

Light House Cinema in Wolverhampton became part of this network, which enabled digital projection capability in just one of its screens. This has allowed a successful and varied programme of independent, contemporary and classic film, alongside live content from around the world, and productions made by regional filmmakers.

The support from this network has now come to an end and Light House is entering into an uncertain period. In order to maintain the unique cinema programme which it currently offers its audiences, it needs to make both screens fully digital by upgrading its projection equipment.

If Light House is unable to fully upgrade to digital it will only be able to show a gradually diminishing selection of films into the future.

Light House Chief Executive Frank Challenger said: "After 25 years of investment from the local authority and other funding bodies, and support from loyal audience members, we want to ensure that we are able to maintain and extend our programming capabilities and support regional filmmakers for another 25 years and beyond!

"And of course this will mean that Wolverhampton continues to have a leading independent cinema so that local residents can access a unique cultural offering right on their doorstep."

In return for investments into the project, Light House is offering rewards including complimentary tickets, offers in Lock Works café bar and loyalty cards offering discounts for cinema goers for six and 12 months. Donors just need to simply purchase shares through Angelshares and allocate them to Light House's project. £1 = 1 Angelshare.

Rewards are allocated when the target has been reached. Light House has until the end of 2012 to reach their target of £7,500.

AngelShares was founded in 2010 by Sarah Gee, an arts marketer and fundraiser with over 20 years of experience who's already raised over £50 million for arts projects. With support from Arts Council England and BusinessLink West Midlands.

Light House's Angelshares page is at http://angelshares.com/projects/6/digital-screening-equipment