2010 is going to be a crucial year in the campaign to save Waltham Forest’s EMD Cinema and we are urging everyone to sign up for McGuffin membership now.
Full details and an application form can be found here Membership2010 .
02/01/2010
EMD Cinema: Campaign Update
The EMD Cinema closed in 2003 when it was purchased by the controversial Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) who intended to convert it for religious use. Following a massive local campaign, the government held a Public Inquiry which ruled that the building remained commercially viable as a cinema and should not be converted into a church. Despite receiving at least 12 offers from potential buyers, UCKG declined to sell the building and instead left it empty.
At the beginning of 2009 it was confirmed that Waltham Forest Council and UCKG had been working together on a new scheme to convert the historic venue into a church. The new proposals would see the vast majority of the site used exclusively as a church with some space in the former Upstairs Circle area of Cinema 1 adapted to create a small venue which UCKG claim would eventually be available for community hire at commercial rates. The adjoining carpet shop and Victoria pub would also be closed and converted into UCKG ‘training rooms’ and ‘youth centre’. Councillor Terry Wheeler, the council’s Cabinet member for regeneration, led the local authority’s negotiations with UCKG while PR company the Remarkable Group were enlisted to help deliver the plan. The Remarkable Group is well known for its associations with big business interests such as British Airways, GlaxoSmithKline, BMW and Bovis Homes.
In March 2009 more than 400 residents gathered to discuss the new proposals at a public meeting in Walthamstow. 100% of those in attendance voted in favour of reviving the EMD as a cinema. Full details of the public meeting can be found here.
The following month UCKG held an exhibition of their plans which prompted a huge demonstration outside the EMD Cinema attended by over 600 local residents and attracting coverage from the national press, television and radio. Messages of support were also received from a number of celebrities (see post below).
Shortly afterwards, several high profile cinema operators went on the record to confirm their ongoing interest in reviving the EMD. Read their statements here. Lyn Goleby – the managing director of Britain’s most successful independent cinema chain Picturehouse – also held meetings with senior council representatives and outlined plans for the venue’s revival. Meanwhile, Councillor Terry Wheeler publicly declared his support for UCKG’s scheme, stating that a church development would be “more attractive” to young people than a revived cinema.
UCKG’s new planning application was eventually published in August 2009 and a Day of Action was organised by the McGuffin Film Society to enable residents to register their objections to the scheme. Campaigners have also presented a detailed planning submission to the council.
It is anticipated that the fate of the EMD Cinema will be determined at a meeting of the council’s Planning Committee in early 2010.
01/01/2010
McGuffins Film & TV Quiz Night
The popular McGuffins Film and TV Quiz Night will return on Saturday 6 March 2010 to the Rose & Crown pub, 55 Hoe Street, London E17.
Come and test your knowledge of the film and TV greats to win a selection of prizes including cinema tickets, books, DVDs and movie memorabilia. £50 cash first prize with further cash prizes for second and third places. All welcome. Admission £1.50. For full details visit the ‘Quiz Nights’ page on the main website via the link at top right.
“possibly the biggest quiz in London” – TIME OUT
13/12/2009
Christmas Demo
Thanks to everyone who braved the rain to take part in the Christmas Demo outside the EMD Cinema on Sunday 13 December! A Waltham Forest Guardian news report can be found here.
18/11/2009
Vertigo Magazine article
Vertigo Magazine has published an in-depth article about the EMD Cinema.
The article examines the cinema’s history and the campaign to secure its future. You can read the article here.
17/11/2009
CTA Condemns Cinema Plan
The Cinema Theatre Association (CTA) has condemned proposals to convert Walthamstow’s EMD Cinema into a church.
The CTA has written to the council to register their opposition to the current planning application submitted by the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) which aims to reopen the venue as a place of worship.
Caseworker Eva Branscome said “We are highly concerned should this application be allowed that the building will be lost for the use of the community at large. A future use as a place of worship would be neither regenerative nor conducive to a thriving entertainment and recreational district that any community would aspire to”.
The CTA has attempted to inspect the cinema on several occasions over recent months to assess its current condition but appointments have been repeatedly cancelled. “The resistance of the owners to allow access does not give us confidence that this important historic entertainment building will be available to the wider public for community use,” said Ms. Branscome. “This has been the case with the Astoria in Finsbury Park, also a historic cinema owned by UCKG and converted to a place of worship, where access to non-members is now discouraged by the doormen and security staff who can be intimidating to the general public. This is in stark contrast to other more traditional places of worship where newcomers or people interested in the building are always made to feel welcome”.
The CTA has also urged the council to incorporate the cinema into plans for the redevelopment of the adjacent Arcade site.
20/10/2009
Bernstein Family Declares Support
The family of the men who created Walthamstow’s EMD Cinema are backing the campaign to save the venue.
Showbiz moguls Cecil and Sidney Bernstein founded the Granada cinemas empire in 1930 and the Walthamstow site was one of their first and most lavish projects. The Ilford-born brothers would later build more than 50 cinemas around the country and were the founders of Granada Television. Sidney Bernstein was also a lifelong friend and collaborator of Alfred Hitchcock with whom he formed Transatlantic Pictures in 1948.
Sidney Bernstein’s nephew Toby Stone has been in touch to offer his family’s support for the campaign to save the cinema.
“My family and I are very concerned to hear that the cinema might cease to be a place of entertainment and become a church,” said Mr. Stone. “This building has served as a cinema for many generations of people and is the last substantial place of entertainment in the area. The building was intended to bring the community together and to raise local access to culture and entertainment. It was always meant to be somewhere open to everyone. If it becomes a church then clearly that purpose is completely lost. It would be very sad for Waltham Forest if such a long and important tradition now falls by the wayside through the outcome of a planning decision. I am also concerned at the damage this Grade 2* Listed building will sustain if its use is converted in this way. It was designed by some of the great architects and designers of their generation and forms part of the heritage of the great picture palaces”.
Mr. Stone has now written to the council to voice his opposition to UCKG’s plans.
15/10/2009
‘Alfred Hitchcock in East London’
The new documentary ‘Alfred Hitchcock in East London’ is now available as a limited edition DVD.
‘Alfred Hitchcock in East London’ explores the legendary director’s mysterious early days and uncovers many lesser known facts about his formative years.
Retracing Hitchcock’s footsteps around Leytonstone, Limehouse, Stratford and Hackney, the film reveals how his early London life profoundly influenced his later work. The documentary also examines Hitchcock’s associations with the long forgotten Walthamstow film industry and tells the previously untold story of his support for a local cinema during the height of his Hollywood fame.
The film identifies the key sites from the director’s youth which still exist today and features contributions from Roy Ward Baker (assistant director, ‘The Lady Vanishes’), Charles Barr (author of the seminal ‘English Hitchcock’), veteran actor Murray Melvin and numerous others. It paints a portrait of Hitchcock and his roots which is radically different to previous biographies and documentaries.
“a fascinating insight” – Boris Johnson, Mayor of London.
DVD Special Features: 40-minute Alfred Hitchcock audio interview, ‘Working with Hitch – The Memories of Roy Ward Baker’ featurette, ‘The Lost Cinemas of Limehouse and Leytonstone’ featurette, ‘Zeppelins over London’ featurette, ‘Hitchcock’s Leytonstone Today’ stills featurette, ‘BBC Big Screen – The EMD Cinema’ featurette, ‘The Story of Aventure Malgache’ stills featurette.
Scroll down to see a TV news report and the latest reviews of ‘Alfred Hitchcock in East London’.
The DVD can now be purchased from 
or send a cheque / postal order for £10 payable to ‘McGuffin’ to: The McGuffin Film Society, 458 Hoe Street, London E17 9AH.
TV news report and latest reviews below.
http://www.hertfordshiremercury.co.uk/hertfordshiremercury-leisure/DisplayArticle.asp?ID=430002
http://www.wharf.co.uk/2009/06/film-reveals-hitchcocks-east-e.html
14/10/2009
Stars Back EMD Cinema Campaign
ROLLING STONES legend Mick Jagger has joined a host of stars backing the McGuffin campaign to save Waltham Forest’s EMD Cinema.
In a statement he said “Cinemas and live venues like The Granada in Walthamstow where the Stones played in the early days, learning our craft on the way, are the lifeblood of our cultural history. They helped launched British popular music onto a world stage and should continue to function as places of entertainment and enjoyment. It’s heartbreaking to hear such a beautiful, important historical building and centre of entertainment is being lost to the local community. I fully support the campaign to keep it open and provide film, music and the arts for generations to come.”
A number of other high profile supporters have recently come forward to back the campaign.
‘Blackadder’ and ‘Time Team’ star Tony Robinson grew up in Leytonstone and was a regular visitor to the EMD throughout his youth. He was mortified to hear about the latest threat to the venue.
“The cinema is an exotic masterpiece,” said Tony Robinson. “It’s where my teenage eyes were opened to the great jazz and rock ‘n roll artists of the 1960s and where I saw a host of great movies. At this exciting time in our history when east London is about to be revitalised, it would be crazy to turn our backs on such a magnificent venue. If not for our sakes, then for the sake of the next generation of film and music lovers, let’s ensure it is given the opportunity to reclaim its place as the hub of Walthamstow’s high-class entertainment”.
Award winning actress and screenwriter Meera Syal MBE once lived near the cinema and has also offered her support to the campaign.
“I’ve spent many happy hours in this stunningly beautiful building over the years,” said Meera Syal. “The Walthamstow cinema has a rare touch of glamour and it would be an absolute tragedy if the film lovers of east London were to be permanently deprived of this beautiful jewel of a cinema”.
Veteran politician, broadcaster and historian Tony Benn has sent a message to confirm his opposition to the current UCKG-council plan.
“I offer 100% support against the vandalism that is being planned,” said Tony Benn.
Actor and comedian Alan Davies – star of ‘Jonathan Creek’ and a regular celebrity panellist on the BBC’s long running ‘Q.I.’ – was born in nearby Loughton and attended school in Woodford Green. He travelled to Walthamstow regularly throughout his childhood and teenage years to watch films at the EMD and has fond memories of the cinema.
“I was shocked to hear of the possible demise of the beautiful Granada Cinema in Walthamstow,” he said. “I spent many happy hours there as a child and find it extraordinary that its preservation as a cinema for local people is not a priority in the borough of Waltham Forest. With the recent demise of the dog track and now this news, it seems the protection of the area’s historic and cultural landmarks is in the wrong hands. Save the Granada Cinema!”
Alan Davies is joined by screen legend David Warner in opposition to the current EMD proposals.
David Warner is an Emmy-award winning actor with a career spanning more than four decades. His extensive film credits include ‘Star Trek’, ‘Titanic’, ‘The Omen’, ‘Time Bandits’ and ‘Straw Dogs’ and he is well known for his long association with the Royal Shakespeare Company. He is calling on local councillors to reject plans to alter the cinema.
“It’s essential for our future that we do not destroy the treasures of our past,” he said. “This building saw the beginning of something we now take for granted – the shared experience of cinema. Please allow it to remain for that purpose – a place of memories and dreams”.
Other supporters of the McGuffin campaign include former London Mayor Ken Livingstone and Alfred Hitchcock’s daughter Patricia.
An Evening Standard news report can be found below. http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23704737-details/Mick+Jagger+fights+to+save+cinema+where+Stones+played/article.do
13/10/2009
Local Businesses Back EMD
Representatives of Walthamstow’s business community gathered outside the EMD Cinema at the weekend to demonstrate their support for saving the venue.
Waltham Forest Council is currently considering a planning application by owners the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) aimed at converting the historic cinema for religious use despite previous plans being rejected by the government.
“A revived cinema would certainly be the best use for the EMD building,” said Glenn Conn of estate agents Haart. “It would benefit the local community and businesses and make Walthamstow a more attractive place to live”.
Fellow estate agent Andrew Goad of Churchill Estates agreed. “We strongly feel that the community would greatly benefit from the EMD re-opening as a cinema,” he said. “It would enhance local businesses and the regeneration plan for the area”.
His comments were echoed by Ben Tobin, managing director of the borough’s largest estate agent Strettons. “Since the council’s failure to secure a development on the former Arcade site the cinema is one of the most focal points in the town centre,” he said. “There is a strong need for a viable town centre and this would be a significant boost”.
Many of the area’s restaurants and bars are also throwing their weight behind efforts to revive the cinema.
“I want the EMD to come back,” said Peking Chef manageress Ming Feng Li. “It would benefit all the people who live in Walthamstow”.
“The cinema would generate more customers who would use local amenities before and after going to screenings,” added Grove Cafe manager Franc Escuder. “This would help build a sense of community and cohesion”.
Aaron Clingham, co-manager of the Rose and Crown pub, agreed. “A cinema at the EMD is necessary for the continued regeneration of Walthamstow and would be of vital importance to businesses and residents alike,” he said.
Stuart Arnott is the director of the Red Planet multimedia production company based in Hatherley Mews next to the EMD. He believes the venue’s revival would transform the area. “A restored cinema would be a jewel in East London’s crown, a focal point for civic pride and a unique visitor attraction,” he said. “It would benefit a variety of local businesses as Walthamstow would become a destination to spend the day. I urge the council to reject any change to the building’s use and do everything in its power to allow it to remain a cinema”.
Councillors are expected to vote on the EMD’s future in the next few weeks.
PHOTO: Business representatives from Haart Estate Agents (Hoe Street), Peking Chef restaurant (Hoe Street), L’Hirondelle Cafe (Hoe Street), Academy Design (Hatherley Mews), Fenicks Dry Cleaners (Hoe Street), Tidy Books (Hatherley Mews), Kaz Digital Services (Hoe Street), Grove Cafe (Hoe Street), Celsius Wine Bar (Hoe Street), Sibercow (Hatherley Mews), Rose and Crown Theatre Pub (Hoe Street), Strettons (Hoe Street) and Hiltongrove Business Centre (Hatherley Mews).
13/10/2009
Show Your Support – Posters and Leaflets
Show your support for the EMD Cinema campaign by downloading one of the posters below and displaying in your window, car or workplace.
SaveWalthamstow’sCinema-poster SaveWalthamstow’sCinema-poster2
13/10/2009
UCKG Planning Application and How to Object – UPDATED
Waltham Forest Council will shortly decide the fate of the borough’s last working cinema, the beautiful and unique EMD on Walthamstow’s Hoe Street.
Although several cinema operators are actively interested in reviving the cinema, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) want to convert it for mainly church use despite having previous plans rejected by the government. If local councillors approve their new planning application, the cinema is lost forever.
Please note: the deadline for objections has now passed – but you can still write to local councillors and make your views known. Your local councillor’s contact details can be found here. A full list of Waltham Forest’s councillor’s can be found here.
Key issues relating to the current planning application include:
1. The loss of the borough’s only substantial entertainment venue and last working cinema. UCKG’s proposals would permanently deprive the 225,000 residents of Waltham Forest of their only cinema at a time when there is no prospect of another being built.
2. A re-opened cinema would make a vital contribution to the area’s economy and regeneration. In particular it would provide much-needed stimulation to the evening economy, attracting audiences from across the local community and encouraging spending in many of the neighbouring restaurants, cafes, bars and shops.
3. The EMD building remains viable as a cinema. It did not close because of falling attendances but because UCKG bought it and closed it. There is demonstrable public support for reopening the venue and cinema operators who are eager to do so. UCKG admit they have received TWELVE offers to purchase the cinema.
4. With four services a day, seven days a week, the proposed church development could bring a large amount of new traffic into an already busy area. Many nearby streets are Controlled Parking Zones, making parking a potentially unmanageable problem – while putting additional pressure on existing parking facilities for shoppers whose spending is vital to the local economy.
Two of UCKG’s main planning documents are posted below.
UCKGPlanning Statement UCKGDocandAppendices
The remainder can be downloaded at http://www.mcguffin.org.uk/downloads/
UCKG’s latest press release can be found below.
14/09/2009
Day of Action
A Day of Action in support of the cinema was held on Sunday 13 September at the Rose and Crown Theatre Pub in Walthamstow.
The event featured free films, children’s entertainment, live music, exhibitions and an opportunity for residents to register their objections to plans for the EMD Cinema. The day also saw the premiere of ‘Save Our Screen’, a new documentary examining the story of the EMD, and a live performance by legendary rocker Ed Tudor-Pole. More than 500 people attended the event.
See below for images from the Day of Action (click to enlarge).
15/08/2009
UCKG in Further Controversy
According to international press reports, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) is currently embroiled in further controversy regarding their financial arrangements.
The Associated Press has reported the following:
“The founder of one of Brazil’s biggest evangelical churches siphoned off billions of dollars in donations from his mostly poor followers to buy jewellery, TV stations and other businesses for himself, authorities charged Tuesday.
A Brazilian judge accepted charges from prosecutors alleging that Bishop Edir Macedo and nine other people linked to the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God committed fraud against the church itself and against its numerous followers. Sao Paulo state’s prosecutors office alleged in a statement that Macedo and the others took more than $2 billion in donations from 2003 to 2008 alone, but charged that the alleged scheme went back 10 years.
Church lawyer Arthur Lavigne told the newspaper Folha de S. Paulo that the accused denied any wrongdoing. Church officials did not respond to attempts to reach them by phone and e-mail.Prosecutors said the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God receives nearly $800 million in donations every year from faithful in 4,500 temples across Brazil. The church claims to have nearly 8 million followers in Brazil and many more around the world. Prosecutors said the church tells its members it needs donations — cash, checks, cars and other goods — to finance new temples and to pay for religious programs on radio and TV.
The church allegedly used fake companies to launder the money, moving the assets abroad and then returning them in the form of loans used by Macedo and his accomplices to buy businesses, prosecutors said.
“There is proof that the money from the donations was used to attend to the personal interests of those being accused” and that they took advantage that the donations were not taxed to make investments in personal business, the prosecutors’ statement said.
Macedo, who founded the church in 1977, owns a large television network, three newspapers and several radio stations. He also owns a tourism agency and an air taxi company. In the early 1990s, the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God was investigated for embezzlement and tax evasion, but nothing was ever proven and the church grew stronger.”
Further reports can be found below.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/aug/13/brazil-evangelical-leader-charged-fraud
Meanwhile, UCKG may face prosecution for failing to protect workers called in to maintain the EMD building.
Maintenance staff visited the EMD recently to undertake urgent repairs following the partial collapse of a canopy on the front of the building. A representative from the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) refused to allow work to continue after it emerged that asbestos found within a section of the building had not been properly treated and could be dangerous.
HSE has now forced Waltham Forest Council to issue a Prohibition Notice preventing workers entering the building until the asbestos is made safe. UCKG may face prosecution for sending workers into the premises while the asbestos threat remained unchecked. Security staff at the venue may also be interviewed by officials about the potential threat to their health. Maintenance work has taken place inside the cinema recently but this latest development proves it has not been adequate and raises further questions about UCKG’s stewardship of the building.
A report about the partial collapse of the exterior canopy can be found below.
The scene outside the EMD on Friday 7 August.
02/07/2009
Council and UCKG Plan Conversion of EMD Cinema into Church – UPDATED
Protest outside the EMD Cinema on 18 April 2009.
Waltham Forest Council and the Universal Church of the Kingdom of God (UCKG) have unveiled plans for a new scheme to convert the historic EMD Cinema into a church.
The proposals would see the vast majority of the venue used exclusively as a church while some leftover space in the former Upstairs Circle area of Cinema 1 could be adapted to create a small venue which UCKG claims would eventually be available for community hire at commercial rates. The adjoining carpet shop and Victoria pub would also be closed and converted into UCKG ‘training rooms’ and ‘youth centre’.
Leyton councillor Terry Wheeler is leading the council’s negotiations with UCKG. Meanwhile, UCKG is working with PR company the Remarkable Group to help deliver their plan. The Remarkable Group is well known for its associations with big business interests such as British Airways, GlaxoSmithKline, BMW and Bovis Homes. 
These proposals are a variation of a previous UCKG ‘compromise’ plan which was first presented to the council in the aftermath of the successful Public Inquiry that originally saved the EMD from being converted into a church. The proposals were dismissed by the then council. Waltham Forest Council is now supporting these revised plans despite several successful cinema operators being actively interested in reviving the EMD and warnings from the McGuffin Film Society that this approach has already failed spectacularly elsewhere.
In 2004, UCKG purchased the former ABC Cinema in Catford with the intention of converting it into a church. Despite massive local opposition, Lewisham Council eventually granted planning permission for a similar ‘compromise’ solution during 2005 after UCKG gave assurances that a portion of the building would be used as a ‘community cinema’. An independent cinema operator was engaged to run this ‘community cinema’ at the site while UCKG developed the remaining portion of the building for church use.
The independent cinema operator has since told the McGuffin Film Society that UCKG “became extremely uncooperative as soon as their planning permission was approved” and the cinema plan was eventually scrapped when the operator walked away “in disgust”. The former ABC Cinema reopened as a fully fledged UCKG church in 2006 and no community cinema facilities were ever developed at the site, much to the annoyance of Lewisham Council and local residents.
While the McGuffin Film Society welcomes all genuine efforts to revive the EMD Cinema, we are deeply skeptical about this latest development – especially given the precedent set in Catford. If approved, we are not convinced these current proposals will amount to anything more than Waltham Forest Council sleepwalking into a deal which hands over the EMD Cinema on a plate.
Around 600 local residents brought Walthamstow to a standstill on Saturday 18 April at a protest in support of saving the cinema. 
Background
The EMD Cinema closed in 2003 when it was purchased by the controversial UCKG who intended to convert it for church use. Following a massive local campaign, the government held a Public Inquiry which ruled that the building remained commercially viable as a cinema and should not be converted into a church.
After persistent public pressure, UCKG eventually put the cinema up for sale in 2006 and a number of bidders emerged with substantial offers. However, the sale process was quickly thrown into chaos when news leaked about a council plan to fund a rival multiplex on the empty Arcade site next door. The EMD was immediately taken off the market. The council’s scheme for the Arcade site collapsed earlier this year and is now back on the drawing board with plans for a hotel and swimming pool currently under discussion (see below for more information about the Arcade scheme).
A representative from English Heritage recently visited the EMD and reported the cinema interior remains in “good condition”, despite the building’s shabby external appearance.
For details about the council’s negotiations with UCKG see this PDF document which has been obtained under Freedom of Information rules.
Press Coverage
- The Independent ‘Hitchcock’s old gem’ (19/04/09)
- BBC News ‘Fight to save Hitchcock cinema’ (19/04/09)
- The Telegraph ‘Tony Robinson campaigns to save cinema…’ (20/04/09)
- The Standard ‘Stars join protest to save cinema’ (17/04/09)
- The London Paper ‘Actors Tony Robinson and Meera Syal join campaign…’ (18/04/09)
- Waltham Forest Guardian ‘Hundreds campaign to save EMD’ (20/04/09)
- Yellow Advertiser ‘Cinema Protest’ (23/04/09).
- http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/8098857.stm (13/06/09)
Background Documents
- For a full summary of the EMD story so far see the PDF of a magazine article from 2008 here
- See the church’s plans for the cinema conversion on their website.
- The pre-planning application proposal document drawn up by UCKG in association with Waltham Forest Council can be found as a Word document here .
- For the Government’s original Public Inquiry conclusions about the EMD see this PDF document here.
International Press Coverage
- La Stampa ‘Salvate il cinema di Hitchcock’ (20/04/09)
- Loudvision ‘Salviamo il cinema di Hitchcock’ (20/04/09)
- BBC Brasil ‘Moradores protestam para salvar cinema comprado por Igreja Universal em Londres’ (19/04/09)
For details about UCKG’s antics in Catford see the links below.
- UCKG’s Catford HelpCentre to open
- News Shopper Online ‘Mayor outraged at cinema plan’ (04/10/05)
- News Shopper ‘Church makes its second bid for ex-cinema’ (28/04/04)
- UCKG pres release ‘Rocking in the Aisles at Catford’ (14/08/07)
- News Shopper ‘Opening of Church in Catford’ (23/08/07)
More than 100 local schoolchildren took part in their own demo on Saturday 13 June.
A short trailer for the new documentary ‘Save Our Screen’ and a recent ITV news report can be found below.
