WITH homemade snacks, independent films and comfy cushions a new community cinema in Great Missenden is hoping to offer a lot more than the mainstream cinemas we are used to.

Blue Door Cinema begins an autumn season this weekend after an extremely successful screening at the end of the school summer term.

The idea was brewed up by Katy Barrett, who was later joined by Jane Lee, Dom Beken and Kevin Brown who founded the club. They all live in the village.

Dom said: "It was Katy's idea originally. There is really a shortage of things to do in the village apart from pubs. "She thought: 'What's the village lacking that people could walk to on a Saturday night?'

"So many people love to watch a film on a Saturday night but this is is a way of making it social."

He said they also realised that people enjoy going to art house cinemas, which is what they modelled the club on.

The films which have been picked are independent films which people haven't necessarily hear of, although the first screening in June was of the Clint Eastwood classic Gran Torino.

And when they came to setting it up they were surprised to discover a thriving independent film club. They spoke to Dudley Smithers who runs a community cinema in Slough, who helped put things together.

They currently hire the equipment from Slough. T

hey set it up in the Great Missenden Memorial Centre.

Jane and Katy made 110 individual cushions to go on the chairs and placed old wooden wine crates between the chairs for people to prop their food and drink on.

The bar offers a range of drinks served in quirky glasses and there is a great selection of food with a choice of a sweet plate (homemade Fudge, selection of homemade cakes and fruit) and a savoury plate (homemade sausage roll, olives, parma ham, selection of cheeses and figs) priced at £4.

Dom said: "The first one was just amazing. We sold it out completely well in advance. We had to turn lots of people away at the end."

The autumn season starts with the Oscar-winning German thriller The Lives Of Others, followed by classic comedies such as Rushmore and Harold and Maude and brilliant documentaries including Senna, the extraordinary account of the Brazilian motor racing legend.

On November 11 at 10am Blue Door Cinema will begin a series of childrens’ screenings with the Oscar-winning Spirited Away.

They are hoping to raise enough funding to buy their own film equipment. Membership costs £45 for 10 films over one year. However, if you join later in the season they will refund any films you missed (or already bought tickets for) against your membership fee.

The Lives of Others is being shown on Saturday (Septmeber 8) at Great Missenden Memorial Centre. Doors open at 7.30pm with refreshments, film starts at 8pm.

Tickets are available for £6 from Samways Newsagent. For more information visit www.bluedoorcinema.org

For more leisure stories go to the Freetime section of the website www.bucksfreepress.co.uk/leisure for I Love My Local, food reviews and interviews with actors and musicians.