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Mild Concern ventured north of the border to Scotland’s capital recently. While there, we thought it only right to visit an independent cinema. Housed in a listed building, until not too long ago, the Dominion in Edinburgh was billed as “Luxury and style in the heart of Morningside” (it’s now not quite as charmingly offered as “Luxury and style for you”). The establishment makes real efforts to convey this ethos from the manager dressed in the dinner jacket to including bottles of champagne amongst the wide range of usual concessions on offer (£40 if you’re up for it.)

Despite the luxurious image (or perhaps because of – I’ve been living down south for too long) the staff are friendly, helpful and not at all condescending, and we were surprised to be handed a complimentary mini tube of Pringles each as we entered the largest of the four screens. The acoustics are a little strange, and the free snacks seemed like less of a bonus when it became evident that we could hear people eating several rows behind. Also, the screen feels a long distance away if sitting more than half way back. Those seats are incredibly comfortable though, with a range of reclining armchairs and two-seater sofas and I am assured that the smaller screens make for a less cavernous experience but can’t vouch for that myself.
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Hello hipster central!

Shoreditch is that weird bit of north-east London that straddles Hackney and The City, mixing up too cool for school indie kids, besuited corporate types, tech heads of the Silicon Roundabout and council-housed locals. Unemployment is a terrifying 40% but browse the hipster clothes shops of Shoreditch High Street and you’d never believe it. Except you’re not here for a sociology report and unsurprisingly, (not least because of the post’s title) this oh-so-hip of post codes has indie cinemas. One of those cinemas is The Aubin.

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Our independent cinema reviews begin in London’s East End: The Rio in Dalston, Hackney.

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My earliest memories of movie-watching are of going to our local flea-pit to be scared witless by The Secret of NIMH. In the same cinema, I was also terrified by The Fox and the Hound and Oliver & Company but then the cinema closed. So in order to experience future animated frights, this scaredy-cat had to take a 40-minute bus trip and walk another 20 to get to a 15-screen multiplex on the outskirts of Peterborough.

In the entirety of my childhood and teenage years, all that seemed to change in that Showcase – or any other Showcase for that matter – were that the seats got shabbier and more uncomfortable and popcorn got more expensive, safe in a retail environment with zero competition. They even rolled out the exact same Christmas message every year.

We at Mild Concern like independent cinemas because where else would we get to watch weird Portuguese films that no one wants to read the reviews of? So, we’re starting a feature highlighting and reviewing the ones that we get to try. This will, inevitably, be mostly London-centric because unlike the BBC, we can’t afford to make any of our writers relocate to Scotland. But when we do get a chance to visit an indie cinema out of the capital, we’ll be there, jealous of the ticket prices.

Which leads neatly onto the Austerity Britain Box. If you’re Squeezed in the Middle or repeatedly hitting snooze on Alarm Clock Britain or whatever other spin term we want to hijack to say that it can be expensive to go see a movie these days, we’re here for you! The Austerity Britain Box will summarise the ticket prices in comparison with other nearby chain options, the cost of snacks and any special deals. Then maybe you can put that £1.20 we save you to setting up your own cinema one day.

Coming soon… The Rio, Dalston

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