Liverpool’s Unity Theatre launches brand new cinema event series

The Unity Theatre is hosting a new cinema project, with a brand-new programme of film screenings launching this February.

Curated and promoted by the new Liverpool Doc Club, the season brings acclaimed new releases to The Unity Theatre in the heart of Liverpool.

For the first time in many years, audiences will be able to enjoy regular film screenings at the Unity. Though Liverpool once boasted a bustling cinema scene, the city has been without a dedicated arthouse independent cinema for a long time. This new programme is a response to the current dire situation and marks a joyful revival of big-screen culture locally.

The programme will feature two special events in February and March, presenting awarded and never previously screened films in Liverpool.

MOTHERBOARD (11th February)

Motherboard is a smartphone feature exploring motherhood, filmed over 20 years by BAFTA award-winning director Victoria Mapplebeck. It charts the joy, pain and comedy of raising a child alone. The film navigates the highs and lows of unromanticized parenting, where chaos rules. Honest, funny and infinitely relatable, MOTHERBOARD is the antidote to the unrealistic expectations we have about motherhood, and a film for anyone who wants to see family life in all its unfiltered glory. The event includes a Q&A with the beloved director.

FOLKTALES (11th March)

Academy Award®-nominated filmmakers Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady examine humans on the cusp of adulthood, finding themselves at the edge of the world, using intimate verité storytelling and exhilarating cinematography. The film, shortlisted for the Oscars 2026, tells the timely and emotional story of teenagers who choose to spend an unconventional “gap year” learning to dog sled and survive the Arctic wilderness, in hopes of finding connection and meaning in the modern world. Guided by patient teachers and a yard full of Alaskan huskies, they discover their own potential and develop deep relationships with the land, animals and humans around them. The event includes a panel with two local forest school leads.

Crucially, the season is designed to be affordable and accessible, with tickets priced between £7 and £10.
Supported by Film Hub North with National Lottery funding on behalf of the BFI Film Audience Network, this programme is delivered to promote a regular independent cinema provision in Liverpool. It also gathers the support of the Documentary Film Council.

The Liverpool Doc Club’s first event was a sold-out screening of The Librarians at Liverpool Central Library in January, after which the club will move to the Unity in February. Plans are already in place to continue the regular screenings at the Unity from April onwards, firmly establishing the project there.

This initiative is spearheaded by Imagine Futures CiC, a community interest company working across culture, creativity, and education to expand opportunities and access for people of all ages. The partnership with Unity Theatre ensures that film exhibition becomes an important part of Liverpool’s cultural life once more.

Bruno Castro, film curator at Imagine Futures CIC / Liverpool Doc Club said:

“We’re thrilled to be partnering with the Unity Theatre to host the Liverpool Doc Club. We’ll be screening the best documentaries in one of the city’s most independent, engaged and welcoming venues.”

“We took great care in curating a programme that aligns with the Unity Theatre’s ethos. The first two events are proof of that: ‘Motherboard’ and ‘Folktales’ are films that engage with other offerings by the Unity and explore what it means to be human today. They have never been screened in Liverpool before and are completely new.”

“Cinema can add a different space for the idea that the Unity is a house of ideas and feelings, and it is important to contribute to this. Documentary cinema, in particular, has extraordinary potential.”

Get your Liverpool Doc Club tickets here.

Critically acclaimed play The Marian Hotel is coming to The Unity Theatre, get more info here.

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