La Charrette was for several decades the smallest

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ** Filmmaking, the process of making a film * Movie theate ...

in the UK. It closed in February 2008. A tiny, 23-seat venue, sited in a back garden in the town of

Gorseinon Gorseinon is a town within the City and County of Swansea, Wales, near the Loughor estuary. It was a small village until the late 19th century, when it grew around the coal mining and tinplate industries. It is around north west of Swansea Ci ...

, near

Swansea Swansea ( ; ) is a coastal City status in the United Kingdom, city and the List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, second-largest city of Wales. It forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area, officially known as the City and County of ...

, 'La Charrette' (French for 'the carriage') was built from a disused railway carriage. With

flock wallpaper Flocking is the process of depositing many small fiber particles (called flock) onto a surface. It can also refer to the texture produced by the process, or to any material used primarily for its flocked surface. Flocking of an article can be per ...

and hand-operated curtains, 'La Charrette' began showing films in 1953.

History

The cinema was originally constructed and run by Gwyn Phillips, an electrician who fell in love with the movies in his youth while working as a projectionist. After Mr Phillips died in 1996, 'La Charrette' was kept open by his widow, Rita. A meticulously kept, hand-written record of every film shown at the cinema reveals that the first movie to be screened there in 1953 was ''

Reluctant Heroes ''Reluctant Heroes'' is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Jack Raymond and starring Ronald Shiner, Derek Farr and Christine Norden. It is based on the popular farce of the same title by Colin Morris. The play, which had its West En ...

''. That same year, locals were able to see ''

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'', ''

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'' and '' Winchester ‘73''. Later decades saw the screening of '' The French Connection'' and even the controversial '' Straw Dogs''. More recently, ''

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'', ''

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'' and '' The Queen'' were shown.

Closure

Made unsafe by the irreparable decay of its wood-and-steel structure, 'La Charrette' was originally expected to close in October 2007 after a screening of '' Ocean's 13''. However, a visit by film critic

Mark Kermode Mark Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter (with Ellen E. Jones) of the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Screenshot'', and co-presenter ...

for

BBC2 BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's second flagship channel, and it covers a wide range of subject matter, incorporating genres such as comedy, drama and ...

's ''

The Culture Show ''The Culture Show'' is a British magazine programme about books, art, film, architecture, music, visual fashion and the performing arts. The show was broadcast weekly on BBC Two between 2004 and 2015. Early history Launched in November 2004, th ...

'' resulted in the tiny venue being given a special send-off in February 2008.{{cite news, url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/south_west/7260348.stm, title=Starry last night for Tiny Cinema, publisher=BBC News, accessdate=1 March 2008 , date=24 February 2008 The event consisted of a special premiere screening of the previously unseen

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film ''

Alien Love Triangle ''Alien Love Triangle'' is a 2008 comedy-science fiction short film directed by Danny Boyle and written by John Hodge. It was filmed in 1999. The film was originally intended to be one of a trilogy of 30-minute short films shown together. How ...

'' (2002), starring

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and

Heather Graham Heather Joan Graham (born January 29, 1970) is an American actress. The accolades she has received include nominations for two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Critics' Choice Movie Award, and an Independent Spirit Award. After appearing in tel ...

. For the screening, Branagh made a personal appearance, while Cox and Graham recorded special messages.

Re-opening at the Gower Heritage Centre

Following the screening the carriage was sliced into six pieces and removed from the back garden of the house in Gorseinon, near Swansea. The pieces were transported to the Gower peninsula and welded together and La Charrette was fully restored to its former glory as part of a restoration project funded by the

Gower Heritage Centre The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards the Bristol Channel ...

Gower The Gower Peninsula (), or simply Gower (), is a peninsula in the south-west of Wales. It is the most westerly part of the historic county of Glamorgan, and is now within the City and County of Swansea. It projects towards the Bristol Channel ...

References

Mass media and culture in Swansea Cinemas in Wales Former cinemas in the United Kingdom 2008 disestablishments in Wales 1953 establishments in Wales