THE last independent Cinema in Clitheroe said g'day to Australian film fans, when it hosted its first film festival.
It took place throughout the weekend at the Grand Cinema and was launched in the Ribble Valley Civic Suite by Birmingham digeridoo player Rachel Tighe.
Organised by the Ribble Film Club with a £500 grant from Lancashire County Council, it featured Australian cinematic classics such as Walkabout, Lantana, Where Green Ants Dream and Rabbit Proof Fence.
Ribble Film Club chairman Bruce Dowles, said: "The launch was well-attended and we enjoyed a bumper weekend of fine Australian films."
The festival marks the run-up to the cinema closing down for a massive refurbishment using cash from Ultraframe boss John Lancaster.
The scheme, which has the backing of Sir Cliff Richard, will see the Grand, formerly the Civic Hall Cinema, turned into an arts centre for youngsters, featuring a cyber cafe, dance studio, recording suite and rehearsal rooms.
The film club is run by volunteers who have driven up audience figures from 12,5000 to 25,000 a year.
Geoff Jackson, chief executive of the Trinity Community Partnership, which runs the club, said: "The volunteers who run the film club are to be congratulated for this superb event."
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