Location
MAC cinema is part of the Midlands Arts Centre. The centre is in Cannon Hill Park, just a 10-minute bus journey from Birmingham city centre, and a 15-minute walk from fashionable Moseley (or Muesli as the locals call it).
The building
The arts centre is always bustling and exciting, and there is also a gallery, bar, cafe, studios and theatre there, as well the park, so people of all ages and backgrounds use it. It closed for a major revamp a couple of years back and has relaunched bigger and better than ever.
Clientele
Depends on the film, but the programme put on by the arts centre makes for a friendly, mixed crowd – trendies, students, families and older people. It's inclusive and relaxed: I go there with my mum quite regularly (we're aged 30 and 65) and we both feel completely at home.
Programme
A killer combination of blockbusters and more leftfield offerings so there's always something you have been wanting to see for a while, as well as something that sounds brilliant that you've never heard of. The cinema also hosts themed events and festivals and has started to show NT Live performances that, judging by the last one I went to, are extremely popular. You can also find regular audio-described performances and baby screenings.
Further comments
The first time I went the "no food or drink" policy threw me a bit. However, once you get used to the lack of popcorn it's refreshing to sit in a cinema that doesn't smell of junk food and has comfy seats without the usual stains or discarded chewing gum. And minus the distractions of munching/packet opening/popcorn-dropping, it really is much easier to concentrate on, and immerse yourself in, the film. Considering the exorbitant prices of cinema food and drinks it's nice to see somewhere doing things differently.
The Twitter view
Mac Cinema Birmingham is "intimate, accessible & comfortable, we love visiting & watching great films there.
A mix of entertainment and important documentary in comfortable seats in a pleasant building with great atmosphere
Quiet, respectful, reverent of quality film. Don't even think about unwrapping a boiled sweet.
