The Kingsland Palace was such a success that adjoining properties were purchased and more renovation resulted in the 1915 opening of the Kingsland Empire which could accommodate an audience of more than 1000 people, but probably not all that comfortably.

Things were added and subtracted over the years, but the renovation that gave the Rio Cinema the look you see today took place in the 1930s. The Rio was called the Classic then, and noted cinema designer F E Bromige who gave the cinema’s interior one of his signature “bizarrely curvaceous” makeovers.

The Rio as you see it today is almost identical to how it looked when Bromige finished with it in 1937.

Major restorations took place in 1995 when the cinema was the recipient of a Lottery grant. Nowadays, the Rio Cinema is the only remaining cinema in Hackney, and as such it makes an effort to be responsive to the interests of the surrounding community when planning its programming.

They have an annual Turkish and Kurdish Film Festival, and participate in the Spanish and Gay and Lesbian Film Festivals.

The main features playing at the Rio are a mix of new releases and more unusual independent films. Wednesday afternoons are set aside for the Classics Matinee, with something old but new each week.

On Saturday mornings, films for children are shown, often Disney blockbusters but also older kids’ classics.

If you fancy a late night film, the Rio Cinema is the place for you. They have midnight showings on the weekend of some of the more controversial and unusual films out there.

Ticket prices are a good deal cheaper here than at the chain movie theatres, which on top of all the other good things here is lovely.

London cinema experiences don’t get much better than at the Rio Cinema.

Address: Rio Cinema, 107 Kingsland High Street, E8 2PB

Telephone: 020 7241 9410

Photo courtesy: markhillary

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