On Thursday 30 January we were delighted to be at the Castle Cinema in Hackney for the first Exhibitors' Breakfast of 2025.

The theme of this first breakfast was the living wage, and we welcomed Lianna Etkind, Partnerships and Campaigns Manager for the Living Wage Foundation. Lianna spoke about the importance of being a Living Wage Employer.

We continued discussion of this topic with an insightful panel featuring Melanie Ireland, Director of Reclaim the Frame, Ally Clow, Head of Operational HR at Curzon Cinemas and Holly Hayman, Executive Director of the Castle Cinema.

Ally underlined the business case for becoming a Living Wage Employer: "If we commit to this, we've got an opportunity to grow the business, to make the team happier and content with a better wage. You've got to try and think of what the knock on positive effects will be."

Melanie continued this with: “It was a relatively easy decision for us, but it is admittedly easier for us as we have a smaller team. Our interest is in fair pay as a path to equity more broadly. We’re interested in the living wage in the context of equal pay for women generally, a gap we’re not set to close until 2051.”

Holly corroborated that for the Castle Cinema, becoming a Living Wage Employer had “A big impact in a short space of time".

Following the panel discussion, we welcomed the team from elevenfiftyfive to talk about the success of the Escapes scheme, which has been offering free tickets to cinema goers on a monthly basis, in order to encourage more visits to independent cinemas.

Thanks to all who attended the Exhibitors' Breakfast - watch this space for more information about the next event.