‘Ask me Anything’: What should I expect when cinemas reopen? What are the safety guidelines? Which films will be showing

As the world prepares to return to the cinema, The Independent’s Chief Culture Reporter Jacob Stolworthy will be answering any questions you might have

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It’s time for film lovers to rejoice – cinemas are finally reopening.

For those who love nothing more than to watch movies while sat in air conditioned rooms with fellow enthusiasts, the past year has been a rocky one.

Since the first lockdown in March 2020, cinemas around the world have repeatedly been forced to close their doors to business. Hundreds of films that were due to come out have since had their releases cancelled and been pushed back to a later date.

The sense of community within the film industry all but disappeared, with many films bypassing theatrical releases to be thrown onto a video on demand service for people to watch on their television sets.

After cinemas briefly reopened in July, Christopher Nolan attempted to lure crowds with his complex thriller Tenet. It was temporary: cinemas closed again months later, and have remained so – until now.

But, next week sees the film industry return to some form of normality as cinemas open once again.

From customer guidelines and safety concerns to what films will be available to go and see, I’ll be on hand to answer your cinema questions live on Monday 17 May.

All you have to do is register to submit your question in the comments below. If you’re not already a member, click “sign up” in the comments box to leave your question.

Don’t worry if you can’t see your question – they will be hidden until I join the conversation to answer them. Then join us live on this page at 3pm as I tackle as many questions as I can.