Monday, 7 July 2025
Hebden Bridge Picture House: Second Cinema of Sanctuary award
The Hebden Bridge Picture House has received a unique award for its services in welcoming and assisting asylum seekers, refugees and those seeking sanctuary. The Cinema of Sanctuary Award has been accredited to the Picture House for the second time, after first being presented in August 2021. Awarded by the charity City of Sanctuary UK, it is the only cinema to have received a Sanctuary Award.
The Picture House has been developing its relationship with the refugee and asylum seeker community since 2017, when its owners, Hebden Royd Town Council introduced a scheme to welcome asylum seekers with a complimentary ticket and hot drink at all film screenings, without the need to book in advance. In 2018, the cornerstone of this relationship became the scheme Making Friends, organised by the volunteer group the Friends of the Picture House.
Spearheaded by Friends of the Picture House members Moya O'Donnel and the current Chair, Kate Higham, Making Friends raises funding to transport asylum seekers housed in Halifax and around Calderdale to a monthly family film screening, also providing entry and popcorn at the cinema. With funding from the Community Foundation for Calderdale and other supporters, these screenings have become a well-established success, regularly attended by up to 180 people.
With attendees originating in countries including Syria, Lebanon, Ghana, Yemen, Sudan, Nigeria, Iran and Afghanistan, the trips provide respite during an uncertain and stressful process, and are often the first ever visit to a cinema for children and parents alike. From the inaugural trip to see Paddington 2 in 2017, through this summer's A Minecraft Movie, hundreds of films have been viewed together.
As attendee Manal commented, "You have brought smiles into the faces of so many children."
After the establishment of weekend matinee trips, visits are also organised for single adults. Attendee Momadu, who had not previously met other users of St Augustine's Centre, who collaborate with Making Friends on the trips, told organisers, "This is my first time. I liked being together with others."
Representatives of St Augustine's Centre have praised the Friends of the Picture House after noting that the attendees of Making Friends are treated in the same way as the other visitors to the cinema, making them feel welcome and comfortable.
The reach of Making Friends has expanded over the years to include collecting and distributing donations of furniture, bicycles and essential items, promoting local volunteering opportunities, and trips to other local attractions. This summer, users of St Augustine's were given assistance and companionship carrying carrying puppets in the Hebden Bridge Handmade Parade. See photos
In 2023, the organisers began Making Friends Kitchen, a regular opportunity for those members of the asylum seeker group who are placed in hotels, to meet, cook together and share food in a safe space. Cooking and sharing food is very powerful, and this is often the first time attendees have been able to choose the menu and cook for themselves since leaving their home countries.
Periodically, Making Friends Kitchen events have welcomed members of the public at various venues around Hebden Bridge, and attendance figures have been significant, with no food going spare.
The City of Sanctuary movement centres around the key values of inclusiveness, openness, participation, inspiring others and integrity. One of its five core principles is that 'We should welcome the stranger.'
Previously, on the HebWeb
Picture House becomes the first Cinema of Sanctuary (Aug 2021)
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