Islanders like their cinema

SHETLAND Arts has sold almost three times as many cinema tickets as anticipated during the first seven weeks of Mareel.

Speaking during the GetAmbITion conference, held in the new arts venue on Thursday, director Gwilym Gibbons said cinema sales targets had exceeded by a considerable margin.

Since the end of August, 14,619 islanders visited Mareel to watch a movie, whereas the organisation’s business plan had only budgeted for 5,362 visitors during the first seven weeks.

In total, Mareel expects around 40,000 cinema sales during the first year of operation, a figure that now appears to be within easy reach.