How to help cinemas survive the coronavirus pandemic

Subscribe and enjoy Curzon Home Cinema's director Q&A live-stream

Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, a number of cinemas have had to close their doors, but there are ways to support them through the crisis.

Most major cinema chains including the Odeon, Picturehouse and Cineworld offer gift cards. If purchased they will still be valid after the outbreak is over.

Another option is to subscribe to a streaming service at home, such as Curzon Home Cinema or BFI Player.

Becoming a Curzon member costs £65 a year and with that, you automatically gain access to Curzon12 – a subscription service that allows you to watch twelve classic films that are updated every month.

This March, the cinema is celebrating Mother's Day with their “All About My Mother” collection, including Nanni Moretti's Mia Madre, Gianni Di Gregorio​'s The Salt of Life and Louis Malle's Murmur of the Heart.

Members also receive a discount on films not included in the Cinema12 bundle. New releases such as Portrait of a Lady on Fire and Escape from Pretoria are available to stream now. The former will also be available to stream on Mubi in April.

Curzon Home Cinema will also be live-streaming a series of director Q&As from their isolation. At this moment in time, the filmmakers who will take part are yet to be announced.

After an initial free 14 day trial, BFI Home Cinema costs £4.99 a month and you can cancel at any time. Membership includes access to a range of classic and cult films including a range selected by legendary film critic Mark Kermode. With this, you also get a discount on a number of new releases.

After the cancellation of the BFI Flare festival, organisers have announced plans to make the LGBTQ+ short films and features due to be screened available to stream on BFI Player.

Those who purchased tickets for BFI Flare will automatically gain free access, while general audiences can tune in by signing up for a BFI Player Membership.

The collection will include Levan Akin’s Georgian-set romance, the Cannes Film Festival hit And Then We Danced, Olivier Ducastel and Jacques Martineau’s Don’t Look Down, and Daniel Karslake’s documentary For They Know Not What They Do. which follows four different LGBTIQ+ individuals who experience bruising encounters with organised religion.