THE assembly hall at the Heritage listed Perth Girls’ School has been transformed into a pop-up cinema for the winter – a process that took two months.
The team behind Fringe World and Rooftop movies has taken over the space, which served as a school from 1936 to 1962 before being used by WA Police Traffic Department from 1963 to 2015, to show the latest blockbusters and arthouse films.
Sessions will also include sing-along screenings, Australian films and a David Lynch retrospective.
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READ NOWFringe World chief executive Marcus Canning said the plan was to make the historical building a thriving creative precinct for the next chapter of its existence.
“It was a girls’ school for thirty years, a cop shop for fifty years and we can’t wait to launch its next colourful incarnation,” he said.
Producer Justin Marshman said turning the hall into a cinema was a “gradual” process.
“We’re working with the building owners to restore the building back to its former glory,” he said.
“It was tricky to transform it but it’s just what Fringe does, finding disused or abandoned or unloved spaces and making them into something special.”
He said partitions that created workspaces for the former tenants had to be removed, but some of their equipment, such as speed cameras, remain in storage on site.
There will be four programs of films, with the first kicking off on June 15 with Avengers: Infinity War.
The winter cinema will also have food and drinks available for purchase.
Go to www.girlsschoolcinema.com.au.
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