Bringing the magic of cinema to the Scottish countryside
A place that promotes happiness for the people of the town and attracts visitors from the neighboring countryside: that was how Admiral Backhouse described the 470-seat cinema he inaugurated in the Scottish town of Aberfeldy in July 1939. 45 years later, the cinema closed its doors to become an amusement hall. Yet today, Backhouse’s dream is more alive than ever. After a seven-year fundraising campaign and an intensive construction program, Aberfeldy (population +/- 2,000) has regained its cinema: the Birks Cinema.
“When the building was for sale in 2005, three movie enthusiasts came forward to explore the possibility of restoring the cinema. The ‘Friends of the Birks Cinema’ succeeded in their plan to refurbish the existing building and install a state-of-the-art cinema. In the spring of 2013, a 100-seat cinema opened,” explains Kevin Ramage, project manager at Birks.
On advice from an independent cinema consultant, the Friends of the Birks Cinema asked Future Projections for help with their digital cinema system. The latter recommended a Barco projector, on account of its reliability and the wide portfolio of digital cinema projectors that Barco offers. “The Birks is a long way from anywhere - a three-hour drive north of Edinburgh - so reliability was an important factor in equipment choice. The DP2K-12C was an obvious choice. Its long-life xenon lamp source and superb cooling ensure high reliability and low maintenance,” Kevin Ramage continues.
“Moreover, the projector is a perfect fit for our 8-meter wide screen. Our audience is really amazed by the image quality. Barco really helps us provide a great movie experience to our audience, just like we had dreamt of when kicking off this huge undertaking.”
