Our
AGM 2024
I
Acton Arts CIC / ActOne Cinema
A G M Minutes
Friday 14th June 2024
Directors present:
Bart Govaert - Chair
Nick Jones - Vice-chair
Peter Truesdale - Treasurer
Jagjit Takhar
David Thaddeus
Amanda Mason. - secretary
Apologies: Lucy Burnham
Those present included: Rupa Huq MP, Cllr Gary Malcom, Natahsa Patel and Matthew Stower
Staff: Martina Ivanetic, Dimitris Poteas.
Volunteers: Sue Clements, Jude Shapter
Supporters: Trish Longhurst, Paul Hughes-Smith, Ken Kopp.
Bart welcomed those present and handed over to Nick who introduced the slides – illustrating the operational highlights for the ActOne year. These include:
Opening Screen TWO
Introducing a new booking system
Enriching the programming with special events and Q&A’s
Adding daytime screenings; relaxed, hard of hearing and classic.
National Theatre and Royal Opera house live
Building relationships with the community, local groups and organisations.
Peter presented the annual accounts for the year ending 30th November 2023 (ActOne financial year) as prepared by Clarke and Co. This included a breakdown of revenue steams and the positive impact of operating the café in-house. The cinema and café have 7 staff on payroll and 2 free-lance contributors who are all paid the London Living Wage or above. The directors have a finance sub-committee which meets regularly.
Nick gave those present an over-view of the cinema industry, mentioning the lasting impact of COVID and the strikes on the release of films, and looking forward to an improvement in the film slate later this year.
Bart thanked the volunteers who are an essential part of the ActOne unique and friendly public face, and the backbone of the daily operations.
He also thanked James Lewis, Gill Trotman, Faisal Yousef and Mike Taylor who have resigned as directors this year. We thank them for all their work and commitment to the cinema and café.
Officers for 2023-2024
Bart will continue as Chair of the committee with Lucy Burnham as his co-chair
Nick will continue as vice-chair
Peter will continue as treasurer
Amanda will continue as Secretary.
Q&A.
Rupa Huq asked about the situation with Arts Council and Amanda explained that ActOne had been successful in securing a small Arts Council grant (in February 2024) which was specifically being used to improve and enhance the experience of the performers and audience at Open Mic, Jazz Evenings and other non-film and free events. ActOne is also participating in the London Film Fund Cinema Incentive Scheme which supports our diverse programme.
Trish Longhurst had an enquiry about the board games evening – whether participants bring their own games or are they provided. It was explained by Dimitris that is it a combination of both and that all are welcome.
Paul Hughes-Smith asked about the viability of the increased daytime screenings as he has noticed that attendance is frequently very low. Nick explained that once the requirements of the distributors are met (ie how many screening per day may be specified) any additional screenings are very low in terms of operational cost if the café is open and the premises are already staffed.
CHAIRS REPORT 2024
In the period from 1 st December 2022 – November 2023 the company continues to focus on operating the ActOne Cinema within the old library building. There have been some staff changes but the cinema and café operate with seven staff on payroll and the support of 3 additional freelance staff, one to deal with the social media.
In January 2023 ActOne opened a second screen with an additional 60 seats, a brand new digital projector and sound system funded by a third Spacehive crowdfunding campaign. Our activities have included:
Expanding our offer and our audience with the second screen
Achieving an award for our volunteers
Adopting a new booking website
Delivering regular relaxed screenings for neuro-diverse audiences
Delivering classic screenings for older customers
Delivering weekly Carer and Baby screenings.
Continuing our work with the community to showcase locally produced film and art. Continuing to building local relationships with housing associations and other similar groups to further our reach
Hosting new events in our lounge area: Open Mic, Jazz Nights, local choirs, various local groups.
Collaborated with and provided a venue for the Acton History Group to celebrate the bi-centenary of John Passmore Edwards
Supporting the cultural offer in Ealing by participating in, and providing a venue for, the Ealing Art BEAT, the Ealing Film Festival and the Chiswick book festival
Collaborating with the annual Acton Carnival, screening pre-carnival/ carnival legacy films and providing a location for visual recording of the event itself.