Minister for The Arts, Heritage and the Gealtacht, Jimmy Deenihan, has officially re-launched the Light House Cinema in Smithfield in Dublin 7. The cinema has been taken over by production company Element Pictures and will have its opening weekend on the 20th January 2012.
Element Pictures plans to run special events at the cinema and screen international art house, Irish and classic films. The opening weekend will see the cinema screen a host of highly acclaimed movies including ‘Shame’ from director Steve McQueen and starring Irish actor Michael Fassbender, Golden Globe winning ‘The Artist’, Madonna’s ‘W.E.’ and Clint Eastwood’s ‘J.Edgar’.
Speaking at the launch Minister Deenihan said, “The Programme for the Government committed us to seek to capture some public good from NAMA buildings for arts and culture facilities. The reopening of the Light House is a tangible expression of that commitment. I believe that this outcome is hugely positive for the art house cinema sector, for the Smithfield area and for employment and economic regeneration locally".
Directors of Element Pictures Andrew Lowe and Ed Guiney were also present at the launch and are said to be “delighted” that the Light House Cinema will be screening films again and said that they both had a lot of ideas about how to rejuvenate the cinema. They also thanked the Minister for attending the re-launch and the Irish Film Board and Arts Council for their support.
James Hickey, Chief Executive of the Irish Film Board commented on the news saying, “The reopening of the Light House brings an important renewal of the Irish exhibition landscape. It will once again provide Dublin audiences with reinvigorated access to the wide range of independently produced films than are currently available.”
The Light House cinema is located at the Market in Smithfield, Dublin 7 and is to reopen on the 20th January 2012.
