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Walking to Bermondsey from London Bridge, you pass through a\u00a0long tunnel. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Am I\u00a0going the right way?\u201d you might think to yourself, but you forge on, eventually emerging from the darkness, out into the open. The same principle can be applied to your destination at the other end: The Arzner. As the UK<\/span>\u2019s first LGBTQ-focused cinema, The Arzner provides a\u00a0dedicated space for queer representation on screen, a\u00a0dark screening room in which greater understanding of yourself and others can come to\u00a0light.<\/span><\/p>\n An inviting presence in the centre of Bermondsey Square, The Arzner opened its doors in April. Through its floor-to-ceiling windows, a\u00a0stylish, spacious and homely bar area can be seen, and it\u2019s evident at first glance that they\u2019re proud to be so visible. This building has a\u00a0long history as a\u00a0cinema space, and part of the site conditions is that it remains one. \u200b\u201c<\/span>I live around the corner, and I\u00a0used to come here when it was a\u00a0cinema before\u201d says co-founder Simon Burke, whose background is in hospitality. Piers Greenlees, the other half of the equation, comes from the film world. On the festival circuit over the years, he would see great LGBTQ<\/span>+ films debut and resonate with audiences, and yet they\u2019d fail to filter down to general audiences. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Queer films will always struggle to get onto the big screen, because studios don\u2019t believe that there\u2019ll be an audience for them,\u201d reflects Greenlees. \u200b\u201c<\/span>They\u2019ve got to be packed with big names or massive stories \u2013 they can\u2019t just be simple, relatable stories that a\u00a0lot of audiences can connect to\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n The pair\u2019s first venture \u2013 nearby queer-focused pub and events space The Rising \u2013 opened last year to warm reception. When the opportunity to do something with the Bermondsey Square cinema site came up, it was a\u00a0no-brainer. \u200b\u201c<\/span>Film is a\u00a0tough business, but the added focus on this being a\u00a0cocktail bar makes it a\u00a0more commercially viable space, which I\u00a0think is what the previous management struggled with.\u201d says Burke. Alongside the expected staples, The Arzner serves up a\u00a0formidable selection of charmingly-themed cocktails, each named after important figures in LGBTQ<\/span>+ cinema history, ranging from Marlene Dietrich to Wong Kar-wai.<\/span><\/p>\n The Arzner \u2013 both the house cocktail and the venue \u2013 are named after Dorothy Arzner, a\u00a0seminal figure who from 1927<\/span> to 1943<\/span> was the only female director in Hollywood. The decision to christen the venue after her came after a\u00a0lot of thought and consideration. \u200b\u201c<\/span>It was important for us to have a\u00a0lesbian voice,\u201d says Burke. \u200b\u201c<\/span>No queer cinema is widely distributed enough, but lesbian films haven\u2019t been as celebrated as those focusing on the gay male experience. Dorothy Arzner was publicly out for her entire career, and that was important to me, along with how much of an impact she\u00a0had\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Greenlees and Burke haven\u2019t come across a\u00a0similarly LGBTQ-dedicated cinema venue anywhere in the UK<\/span>, or even in the US<\/span>, and no one that they\u2019ve spoken to knows of an equivalent space either. \u200b\u201c<\/span>In the same way as you have a\u00a0dedicated French cinema in London in the Institut Fran\u00e7ais, you have us for queer cinema\u201d says Greenlees.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Collaboration and conversation are at the core of what the Arzner team is building, having already fostered strong relationships with distributors that focus on queer titles such as Peccadillo, Outplay, and TLA<\/span> \u2013 and they\u2019ve begun dialogues with London\u2019s coterie of queer cinema specialists about future possibilities. The key to The Arzner\u2019s dream, and the likelihood of their success, is that they don\u2019t want to supplant what\u2019s already been built in the capital by film clubs such as Pink Palace, Bar Trash, and Funeral Parade, but instead to provide a\u00a0home for queer cinema that exists year-round.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\nGet more Little White\u00a0Lies<\/h3>\n<\/p><\/div>\n