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A trip to the cinema is always a good idea. A trip to your nearest indie cinema is an even better one. From extra passionate staff and impeccable film curation to cheap tickets and monthly film clubs, independent picture houses just have that extra helping of charm. They also each have hundreds of film-loving fans who reckon their local kino deserves the title of Cinema of the Year.
Nearly 50,000 people have voted for their favourite indie film house to be named the British Independent Film Award British Independent Film Awards' (BIFA) Cinema of the Year for 2026. Last year, the grand prize went to the Magic Lantern Cinema in Tywyn, Wales
Out of more than 70 venues that entered this year’s awards, 15 have made it onto the longlist. Among this year’s hopefuls are Time Out’s own favourites Hippodrome Cinema in Bo’ness, Falkirk and The Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford. We love the Hippodrome for its seaside setting, its original early twentieth century features and its annual silent film festival, HippFest. Oxford’s only independent cinema, The Ultimate Picture Palace deserves its place in the lineup for its Grade II-listed neoclassical façade and curation of art-house, foreign language, documentary and cult classic movies.
Voters also shared why their chosen cinema means so much to them. Some praised their local’s inclusivity while others shouted out the way in which they bring together different generations. The longlist will be whittled down to just five on November 3, and the overall winner will be chosen by a BIFA jury and crowned on December 6. Here are all the cinemas currently in the running.
The 15 independent cinemas longlisted for the BIFA Cinema of the Year Award
- Abbeygate Cinema, Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
- Astoria Cinema, Ayr, South Ayrshire, Scotland
- Campus West, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire
- Filmhouse, Edinburgh, Scotland
- Hippodrome Cinema, Bo'ness, Falkirk, Scotland
- The Kinema in the Woods, Woodhall Spa, Lincolnshire
- Lonsdale Cinema, Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland
- Mockingbird Cinema, Birmingham, West Midlands
- The Odyssey Cinema, St Albans, Hertfordshire
- Penarth Pier Pavilion Cinema, Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan, Wales
- Penistone Paramount, Penistone, South Yorkshire
- The Silver Screen Cinema, Folkestone, Kent
- Theatreship, Canary Wharf, London
- The Ultimate Picture Palace, Oxford, Oxfordshire
- Wellington Orbit, Wellington, Somerset
🎬 Time Out’s guide to the 50 best cinemas in the UK and Ireland.
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