The Star and Shadow Cinema, run by volunteers

The Star and Shadow Cinema is one of the very rare cinemas in the UK to be entirely run by volunteers. That means that everything is done by people who are involved in their spare time, who are not paid for it and who therefore simply do it becase they want it (and enjoy it!): building, repairing, projecting films, cleaning, writing the programme, programming and booking films and gigs, ordering drinks for the bar, dealing with the accounting and bills...

Why do people volunteer for it?

The bottom of it is that volunteers are involved because they enjoy it and see the cinema as an interesting place to work for.

Where is the boss?

There is no hierarchy in the cinema and there is no boss (yes!). Volunteers can have the level of involvement and responsability that they want. That means that there is a lot of freedom in what volunteers can do and the type of events they can hold. The way decisions are taken (for the holding of events or the price of the drinks!) is as a group by consensus during our weekly meetings (see below).

Can I work for the cinema?

ANYBODY can get involved in the cinema. As the people involved all have a job apart from working at the Star and Shadow, there is always a lot that needs to be done, and new volunteers are always welcome. So whoever you are, if you fancy it just give it a go!

How to work at the cinema? In 4 points.

1. Volunteer Induction

On the 2nd Saturday of every month, at 11am, we have a Volunteer Induction Session. It lasts for 1 to 2 hours and we explain everything about how to get involved. This is probably the best way to start.

2. Email list

You can join the general volunteers list – send a blank email to volunteers-subscribe@lists.starandshadow.org.uk. Through this list we send calls for volunteers when we are short of staff. 

3. Teams

We have different teams that are responsible for different things: a bar team (to order the drinks, etc), a publicity team (to promote the cinema), a programming team and others. If you wanted to join any of those or even set up a little team (a "getting the darkroom going team" is needed...), you could!

4. Do not send us your CV!

We do not select volunteers, you come along if you want to.

Meetings

At the core of the organisation are the Monday meetings at 6pm. These meetings are the primary way for the cinema to discuss and organise everything that is happening at the venue and they are an essential opportunity to meet and to ensure that the cinema runs smoothly (see our calendar for more info).

Anyone is welcome to attend these meetings, to listen or participate. Coming to these meetings is a good way to understand the way we work and to meet people who are involved, and also to understand what needs to be done.