Cinemas(?) I actually saw Gaza Strip as part of an Asian Art Festival which is happening around Liverpool this month. The venue was The Blue Coat Chambers, which is an art complex built inside an old school in the city centre (with bookshops, cafes, that sort of thing). I've seen films advertised here before and on this occasion I was really interested, as this would be something I wouldn't necessarily get to see on a big screen. I turned up at the venue monsterously early (50 minutes) and sat in the courtyard outside until fifteen minutes before it was due to start (at 7pm). I tried to queue up, only to be told that they wouldn't be opening the doors until it the film was due to start (!?!) because their wasn't a bar up their just the hall were they're showing the film.
At seven, I happened to be coming out of the loo as people began to file towards me so I skipped up the stairs (having already paid). Entering The Theatre I found ... a large hall with a massive blanket taped across the front, with a table in front upon which sat a DVD player, projector and sound board. Plastic chairs all round. I sat at the front. It felt terribly underground (even though I'd had to climb many stairs to get there). The film started and it occured to me it was being projected in black and white. And here's the rub. In this situation, having only paid £2 to get in, are you going to be the farty who points out that the RGB setting hasn't been selected on either the DVD player or the projector, or are you just going to put up with it because you're watching a very serious film and seeing it in this state gives it a quality. Latter. But I did manage to point it out on the survey slip they gave out at the end (which I'm sure was really important).
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