TOGETHER FOR CINEMA

BRINGING THE CINEMA EXPERIENCE TO RAINBOWS

Together For Cinema (TFC) Founder, Ian Morrish, provides EI with the full story behind its latest project, recently featured on BBC News.

Rakhee Thakrar, Anne-Marie Rosak and Ian Morrish on opening day

Rainbows Children’s Hospice is located just south of Loughborough, and only a few minutes off Junction 22 of the M1.

In 1989, Harry and Gail Moore’s fiveyear-old daughter, Laura, sadly died after a battle with Leukaemia. She had three years of treatment, including a bone marrow transplant from her twin brother, Kit. Laura’s favourite thing in the world was a rainbow and her parents wanted to create something special in her memory – which is how Rainbows was born. Today, Rainbows supports over 300 children and young people living with life-limiting and life-threatening conditions.

In August 2021 Rainbows contacted me and were amazed to hear about what we could do and so the journey began.

Images of the proposed room were sent down to us and, even though the room was relatively small, it was perfect for turning into a cinema room to hold anything up to about eight to ten people.

I visited Rainbows at the end of September and met with Kate Golding, the Head of Organisational Giving, and some of her care colleagues. Having viewed the room it was clear to me that we could deliver a pretty ‘standard’ TFC installation, but with extra lighting to help create a wonderful ambience and visual experience.

It was fortunate that we already had good contact with an installer local to Loughborough, this being Decorum Technology. Gary Mills and his team are hugely supportive of TFC and had, in fact, project managed an installation at Acorns Children’s Hospice in Walsall in 2014. Gary visited Rainbows and viewed the room for himself. Having discussed with the Rainbow’s team what could be done, they were all happy to commit the room to a full cinema scape room, as opposed to a multi-functional room doubling, or even trebling, up as anything else. This made the whole project a little more exciting for us and enabled us to consider more immersive products to really add to the cinema experience. Thanks must go to Control4 (Snap One), Denon (Sound United), Epson, HDANYWHERE, KEF, Orluna, Penn Elcom, Projecta, QMotion, Sony and Starscape. Great brands with great products and a real desire to help progress our work.

Gary Mills, Director, Decorum Technology, comments, “Working at Rainbows Children’s Hospice was made all the more pleasurable by the hospitality of the Rainbows team who couldn’t do enough to help us and make sure we had a cup of tea and a biscuit whenever required! Of course the main focus was to create as good a cinema room space as we

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could with the wonderful equipment that had been sourced from our industry colleagues by Ian Morrish at Together For Cinema.

“The equipment that was donated was all high quality and I believe we have been able to create a fabulous cinema room facility that will stand the test of time and be used and appreciated for many years to come. TFC is a wonderful enterprise and one that I am sure we will be involved with again. Commercial installs pay the bills but for job satisfaction this is hard to beat.”

Anne-Marie Rosak, Head of Nursing and Clinical Operations at Rainbows Children’s Hospice, adds, “The new Cinema Room will provide the most incredible experience for our children, young people and their families at Rainbows. It really will be a fantastic addition to our wonderful facilities, and we can’t thank Together for Cinema enough for making this happen.

“For many of those who stay at our hospice, going to a cinema might not be a physical option, or they simply may not feel comfortable making that trip. They may have medical, or mobility needs which would make it a very difficult, or even impossible.

“This new facility means families will be able to use the room at any time during their stay at the hospice, while making the space fit their needs - whether that is fun and lively or tranquil and relaxed with the beautiful ceiling of twinkling lights.”

Actor Rakhee Thakrar was in attendance at the opening day and comments “I was delighted to be asked to help open the new cinema room at Rainbow’s Children’s Hospice and witness what a difference this will make to so many children and young adults in the future. I think it’s amazing; I can’t believe how special it is! When you walk in, it is totally immersive and definitely has the wow factor. It will be a wonderful place for families to make memories together and that is what Rainbows is all about.”

Bushra Bushra Zahid, 20, uses the cinema at Rainbows, and says, “It is really beautiful and feels like a proper cinema. This is really important to us because going to an actual cinema can be difficult for us.”

The opening was also covered by the BBC in the shape of the East Midlands today crew, and their feature shown that evening. Also in attendance were several of the care team at Rainbows and also two of the children who were raving about their new cinema room.

Together For Cinema togetherforcinema.co.uk