The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has admitted it cannot stop the recent closure of a string of London cinemas, despite Culture Secretary Chris Smith's enthusiasm for retaining town centre picture houses.

The cinemas were sold with clauses preventing the new owners from continuing to run them as main stream picture houses.

The OFT was alerted to the situation by campaigners outraged at the closure of several ABC cinemas, including one in Walthamstow, sold earlier this year. To the fury of local people, its new owner signed a contract agreeing not to screen English-language films. The cinema now specialises in Asian movies.

In fact, since Odeon absorbed the ABC chain last year, it has also sold off ABCs at Streatham and Staines, which will be turned into health clubs, and at Hampstead, which will be a food store. The group has also pulled out of the Brentwood ABC (currently closed).

The move has infuriated Gravesend MP Chris Pond, who is worried about the closure of yet another ABC, this time in Gravesend. "Town centre cinemas are very important to us," he said. "They are bringing in these restrictive clauses and I believe it is an anti competitive device."

Pond tabled a parliamentary question about the Gravesend situation to Smith, and while the Culture Secretary declined to comment on the use of restrictive clauses, he added: "We would like to encourage the retention of town centre cinemas."

But a spokeswoman for the OFT told TO it had considered three petitions about cinema closures but had decided against launching a full investigation. "There appear to be no breaches of the Competition Acts, which contains exemptions to cover these clauses," she said. "There is not an issue with competition because Odeon is not considered to be dominant in the market."

Ron Hanlon, marketing director for Odeon, said the cinemas had been shut because 'fierce mutliplex competition' had made them unviable. "It is sad. We feel that there should be a mix between city centre cinemas and multiplexes, but the young, popcorn movie goers tend to like the mulitplexes. I would bet my bottom dollar that if we couldn't make [the closed cinemas] work then nobody could."

A spokesman for Odeon added that £10million worth of investments are currently being made to improve the London cinemas that are being retained.

But an industry insider told TO she believed the ABCs could have been saved. "There are cinema operators who would have been interested in these sites, but they weren't given the opportunity," she said. "The public should be given the chance to go to a cinema in the heart of their local community, not in the middle of an industrial estate somewhere."

Ruth Bloomfield, Time Out, February 28-March 7, 2001

THE McGuffin film society, campaigning for wider use of the borough's only cinema, is to hold the second of its film and TV quiz nights.

The Rose and Crown pub in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, will host the fund raising event on Saturday, March 24 from 8pm.

The first quiz night attracted a capacity audience and dozens of people had to be turned away to keep numbers within safe limits.

"We don't believe that as many people will turn up this time but, if you want to make sure of a place, phone 8558 5527 and leave your name and phone number on the answer machine,'' said spokesman Jo Brind.

The society is campaigning to open up the EMD Cinema in Hoe Street to a wider range of films than the Bollywood pictures currently being shown.

Mr Brind said:: ''We have pledged to have pledged to have a McGuffin’s premiere at the cinema before the end of March.

"We are currently trying to find the right film, one that is interesting for our members and complies with the restrictive covenant imposed by Odeon.

"We will start distributing leaflets about this event as soon as we get confirmation.''

He said that the restrictive covenant was a "clever piece of negotiation'' by local entrepreneur Mohan Sharma, since it managed to keep the Walthamstow cinema open as a cinema.

Most of the ABC/Odeon cinemas that closed over the last 12 months had covenants preventing them from being used for showing films.

But the need for any covenant at all was recently completely undermined by a statement made by Odeon marketing director Ron Hanlon, said Mr Brind.

He said in Time Out magazine: "I would bet my bottom dollar that if we couldn't make (the closed cinemas) work then nobody could.''

The McGuffin's spokesman said: "If he is so certain the no-one can make a go of Walthamstow, what possible risk could there be in enabling us to show non-Hollywood films?

"It looks like Odeon is trying to fatally undermine the planning process and particularly the listing system.

"The Walthamstow cinema has been listed as a Grade II building by English Heritage. That means it is very difficult to use it as anything other than a cinema.

"Odeon's attempt to prevent the building remaining as a: cinema has been thwarted by Mr Sharma who is in effect supporting the planning system.

"If he fails, then Odeon will have made a major dent in the listing system, since the building will either be used as something other than a cinema or it will lie empty like the cinema at Bakers Arms.

"This is an issue we are asking Neil Gerrard, MP for Walthamstow, to take up in Parliament."

Waltham Forest Guardian, March 15, 2001.

A FILM society hoping to increase the range of films currently on offer in Waltham Forest has revealed what its premiere will be.

The recently formed McGuffin Film Society intends to screen The Adversary, a black and white film made in the 1970s by popular art house director Satyajit Ray on March 30 at the EMD Cinema in Hoe Street, Walthamstow.

McGuffin member Jo Brind said the film, which is 110 minutes long, opens and closes in a crowded corridor where people are queueing for a job interview and explores the pre-occupations of disenchanted urban Indian youth.

Tickets are £6 and £4 concessions. For more information on the screening call the cinema on 020 8520 7092.

Group members were planing to kick off with Solaris, the Russian version of 2001, but are still limited to showing Indian language films as a result of a clause included in the contract by Odeon when it sold the venue on to local businessman Mohan Sharma.

A campaign backed by Walthamstow MP Neil Gerrard is currently ongoing to remove the clause.

The society has attracted attention from all facets of the community since its launch earlier this year. A film and television quiz night organised to raise some funds for the group proved to be so popular people had to be turned away from the Rose and Crown pub opposite the grade II* listed cinema.

Its next quiz night will be held on Saturday from 8pm.

Yellow Advertiser, March 21, 2001.

EMD cinema leaseholder Mahan Sharma has won his fight to show commercial English language films after ABC/Odeon bosses bowed to pressure over what can be screened.

Mr Sharma is currently only allowed to show Indian language films at the cinema in Hoe Street, Walthamstow, as part of a clause in his leasehold contract.

But he announced on Wednesday that he had reached an informal agreement with the chief executive of ABC/Odeon over what can be shown.

He said: "There will be no restrictions. We will be showing English language films shortly - certainly before Easter.''

Mr Sharma also revealed that he almost sold the loss-making cinema five weeks ago, before having a change of heart.

"I have an 11-year-old daughter who is absolutely in love with the place so I decided to hold on to it for up to three months to see if it turned around,'' he said.

But he confirmed the cinema was still losing money, despite the popularity of one of its lead films.

Meanwhile, Walthamstow MP Neil Gerrard and the newly founded McGuffin's Film Club have been campaigning to have the restrictive clause in Mr Sharma's leasehold contract removed.

Last week Mr Gerrard tabled a motion in Parliament demanding that Odeon Cinemas, the parent company, change its policy of preventing the new owner from showing English language films.

"I know that people in Walthamstow would be happy to have a cinema showing a variety of films,'' he said. ''With three screens, there is no reason why a mix of films in different languages could not be shown so that all sections of the community could benefit.''

In the motion he said: "This is one example of a practice being adopted by Odeon of selling cinemas with conditions that are designed to prevent the new owners being able to compete in any way with other Odeon cinemas; (this house) regrets the fact that current fair trading legislation appears to be ineffective in being able to deal with this flagrant abuse.''

The three-screen theatre is capable of holding 680 people in the main cinema alone. The two others are capable of holding 186 visitors each.

THE McGuffin's Film Club will show the 1970 indian art house classic The Adversary at Walthamstow's EMD Cinema in order to increase attendance at the historic cinema.

The screening, which will take place on Friday, March 30, will be the society's premiere film show. The Adversary is a black and white film made by the popular art house director Satyajit Ray.

It deals with the preoccupations of disenchanted urban Indian youth and is 110 minutes long. Tickets for members cost £6, with £4 concessions. Membership costs £3 per household. Limited access for people with disabilities is available. People interested in attending the 8.30pm screening can call 020 8520 7092.

LATE last week, the man who created London's Museum of the Moving Image was called upon to bolster support for the ailing EMD cinema.

Leslie Hardcastle, who also ran the National Film Theatre for 35 years, visited the Hoe Street venue last Thursday at the request of the recently formed McGuffin's Film Club.

The Grade II* listed building - originally the Granada and later the ABC Cinema - should be turned into a multi-purpose venue, he said.

"There's enough room to put a coffee house, an information technology suite and all sorts of other things in here.''

"It's already being used as a venue for organ recitals. This sort of multi-purposing is the future of big cinemas like this,'' said Mr Hardcastle.

He suggested the cinema could become a London version of one in Peterborough, which is being refurbished in conjunction with a disused department store.

He said: "There's a lot of space here going to waste and it needs to be preserved. The country protects its stately homes and castles and makes sure they continue to operate so why not the cinemas?''

He also slammed ABC/Odeon bosses for placing a draconian restriction on what could be shown at the theatre.

Theatre owner Mohan Sharma, who took over the building at the beginning of December, was restricted to showing only Indian language films under a leasehold agreement with ABC/Odeon.

However, he has been unable to attract sufficient numbers to make it economically viable.

Mr Hardcastle said: "It is understandable that a commercial cinema company doesn't want another cinema to be in a position to compete, but to prevent cinemas from showing the whole world of cinema is crazy. We should be encouraging people to go to the cinema."

He added that people who watch Indian films usually loved all film and would be more attracted to the cinema if there was diversity on offer. Mr Hardcastle said he would approach the Projected Pictures Trust to see if it could use a disused projection box at the cinema.

"There's a lot of potential here. The trust is a voluntary organisation and I would see no reason why they wouldn't want to put an entire projection suite in here. We could show all sorts of art house films.''

Three founding members of the McGuffin's Film Club, Jo Brind, Bill Hodgson and Katy Andrews, said they would take over the theatre's main cinema later this month to show subtitled films.

Mr Hodgson said: "The senior management of ABC/Odeon are well aware of us, and they're getting concerned at the level of bad publicity being generated."

Waltham Forest Independent, March 23, 2001.