On Friday, 4 September 2020, HOME reopened after 169 days of closure caused by the coronavirus pandemic. You can watch some highlights of the reopening weekend and relive the joy here:
Dave Moutrey, our Director and CEO, said: “For the last 10 years working with our team on the planning, building, opening and overseeing the running of HOME has been a massive part of my life.
“Although we have been able to continue to work together during the enforced 168 days of closure, reopening on Friday morning and being in the same space as our team and our audiences doing what we do best gave me a huge emotional lift that was amplified many many times by the comments and love we got from audiences and colleagues in the cultural sector.
“I’m still buzzing now!”
To mark the moment, we put a message on the side of the building that left people in no doubt that we were back:
We joined our friends at First Street to present the fabulous Mr Wilson’s Second Liners – HOME favourites who played our original opening weekend five years ago, so they were a very fitting choice!
To make sure everyone was safe we made sure social distancing was possible…
…although some of our four-legged friends didn’t quite obey the rules!
And to round off the night we had a very special surprise appearance from none other than Manchester favourite, Mr Scruff!
What a joyous weekend – and there’s even more film fun coming up with the return of the ¡Viva! Spanish & Latin American Festival 2020 and nine screenings as part of the BFI London Film Festival. Plus in case you missed it, theatre will also be returning from mid-October!
Have you been back to watch a film at HOME yet? Why not tell us about it in the comments below…
Photos: Drew Forsyth
Videography: Georgiana Ghetiu