It comes after a successful crowdfunding campaign run by founder Dominic Hicks
We’ve already seen an outpouring of support for the Prince Charles Cinema this year, following the news that the venue was under threat, and now we’ve got a DIY cinema dedicated to B-movies, exploitation films and alternative filmmaking on the way, proving just how popular independent cinema is in the city.
Dominic Hicks began The Nickel, “home to the most subversive, bewildering, sensational, fearless, sublime, shocking, transgressive, death-defying, psychedelic, psychotronic, bizarre, rebellious, baffling, degenerate cinematic treasures – from the silent era to the digital age” as a series of pop-up screenings, hosted everywhere from The Cinema Museum to the Garden Cinema. After smashing his crowdfunding target last year, he began to look for permanent premises for The Nickel, and he’s now found a place on Clerkenwell Road.
A 35-seater microcinema, where you’ll be able to watch a varied programme of grindhouse, arthouse and rare movies, mainly on film but also VHS and digital, will be at the heart of The Nickel, which takes its name from nickelodeon theatres that used to show silent movies. Previous pop-up screenings have included Kim’s Video, a 16mm film print of The French Connection, The Loners, Blue Sunshine and Mermaid Legend.
There’ll be a physical media emporium on site, where you can buy posters, merch, movies, books and soundtracks, and a basement bar. The venue will also host various acting and scriptwriting groups and workshops, with a zine and a podcast also in the works. And if you’ve got a film you’d like to screen, Hicks is encouraging you to get in touch as he wants The Nickel to be a real platform for grassroots filmmakers.
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Key Information
Opening date | early summer 2025
Address | Clerkenwell Road, London
For more information | @thenickelcinema