The talks aim to engage with audiences who miss listening, learning and talking about film while the Showroom Cinema is closed. The Paternoster Row venue hopes to reopen on September 18.
The Showroom Summer Season launched at the beginning of July and runs until August 12.
The talks have so far seen different speakers circle the cinematic globe by delving into a distinct area of cinema with a 45-minute talk and discussion.
The sessions are free and take place on Zoom every Wednesday at 7pm.
Each talk operates on a ‘Donate As You Feel’ access with all money raised going toward helping the Showroom Cinema, a registered charity, to reopen.
So far, the talks have received a large amount of support, with nearly 150 people registering for the first event alone.
Dr Emmie McFadden, film studies course leader from Hallam University and regular guest speaker of the Showroom, was responsible for creating the series of talks and getting academics together.
Dr McFadden said: “Like many people in Sheffield, the Showroom is very close to my heart and I never want to forget how lucky we are to have such a great independent cinema in our city.
“With the Showroom not able to open until mid-September, I wanted to help keep the cinema in the hearts and minds of Sheffield’s film community, and luckily fellow academics were also thinking the same thing.
“I miss the communal and social experience of watching films and discussing them in the Showroom Café afterwards.
“The talks offer film audiences a space to connect until the Showroom can reopen.”
There are two Showroom Summer Season sessions remaining.
The sessions visit France on August 5 as Dr Chris Hall offers insights into Georges Perec’s Un Homme Qui Dort.
The black and white Parisian film traces the descent of one man from mere boredom through alienation into terror.
On August 12, Dr Sheldon Hall will explore the Gaumont Cinema in Sheffield.
The largest first-run cinema in the city, the Gaumont in Barkers Pool had peak attendance in the early post-war years.
It opened as the Regent in December 1927, and was finally renamed the Gaumont in 1946.
The venue was used in the 1960s for performances by stars such as The Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Cliff Richard.
Summer of kids’ fun
When the building closed in November 1985 it had three screens. The building was demolished and an Odeon Cinema was built on the site.
The new building, with its distinctive – and fairly unloved – mirrored cladding and red pipework exterior, has also been home to several nightclub venues over the years.
Sheldon will be discussing the decline in British cinema due to television, Sheffield’s film audience and its choice of films between 1948 and 1958.
Ian Wild, CEO of Showroom Workstation said: “When Dr McFadden got in touch about organising the talks, we were extremely excited and wanted to do as much as we could to help.
“The sessions so far have been thought-provoking and inspiring, and really helped us to reconnect our audiences and the city’s film community while our doors are closed.”
Tickets for the talks are free and available through the Showroom Workstation’s Eventbrite page.
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