"Gladiator II"  (15)

Period Drama, Action, Adventure

Over two decades after the events of Gladiator, Lucius lives with his wife and child in a coastal town in Numidia.

Roman soldiers, led by General Marcus Acacius, invade and kill the wife. They force Lucius into slavery.

Inspired by his father, Maximus, the enslaved Lucius resolves to fight as a gladiator under the teaching of Macrinus , who is a former slave.

Macrinus plots to overthrow young emperors Caracalla  and Geta .

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Background to Hickling Barn Cinema

Having seen how popular rural cinema was in other communities, a group of volunteers set about gauging interest for our very own cinema in 2011. With support from Creative Arts East, we undertook some projectionist training and put on a trial screening of The King’s Speech at the Methodist Church Hall.

The evening was a great success and helped us obtain a grant from the Norfolk Community Foundation (Love Norfolk) and the Victory Housing Fund to part-fund our own equipment at Hickling Barn. Further fund raising by the Greyhound Pub and the Pleasure Boat Inn meant that we had close on £8000 to cover the cost of the equipment.

The cinema equipment installed at the Barn includes a 4m x 3m, electrically operated screen, a multi media projector with an ultra long lens, front and rear speakers and a hearing loop. The first public event to be held at the Barn was the cinema screening of Mr. Popper’s Penguins in December 2011. It attracted an audience of more than 100 people. Since then, with the exception of Covid lockdowns, we have shown a film almost every month.

More recently, with a grant from the Phoenix Trust, we have installed acoustic panels to help with sound quality in the Barn.

Generally speaking, films are available to us around 10-12 weeks after cinema release. We are members of Film Bank Media which gives us access to over 15,000 titles under licence. We try to show a real mix of films to ensure that everyone is catered for, but please feel free to let us know if you have any suggestions. Subject to distributor requirements and licence fees, the cinema can also be privately hired to screen a film of your choice.

Our usual slot at the Barn is the third Friday of every month, with a break over August. However, please check our website for any changes to this. Doors open at 7pm with the film commencing at 7:30pm. We also run a limited bar selling wine, beer, soft drinks, teas, coffees and popcorn.

If you would like to help with the cinema, or would like further information, please contact Karen Baker 07399665164.