About us
Oxford’s home of independent cinema
We are a community-owned independent cinema just off East Oxford’s Cowley Road with a single screen in a cosy auditorium. We show an eclectic mix of independent, mainstream, foreign language, and classic films.
Our beautiful historic art deco building dates from 1911 and still has the original box office window that opens onto the street. The cinema is run by a small but passionate team of staff and volunteers.
Inside the auditorium we have a small bar that serves a range of drinks and snacks before the film. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so the film itself starts very close to the advertised time.
In 2022, the UPP became a community-owned business after a successful campaign in which over 1,200 local investors bought shares in The Ultimate Picture Palace Community Cinema.
Our community
In 2022, the Ultimate Picture Palace became a community-owned cinema after being purchased by over 1,200 dedicated film lovers.
Read more about our vision, our aims, and meet the committee currently elected to help run the business and to serve our community shareholder members.
Our history
The Ultimate Picture Palace is Oxford’s oldest cinema and one of the oldest purpose-built cinemas in the UK. Read more about our rich and varied history which dates back to 1911.
Meet the team
Kit Finnie
Cinema Manager and Lead Projectionist
Tom Jowett
Head of Programming and Partnerships
I came to Oxford in 2006 to study History at Oxford Brookes and I have been here ever since. Prior to joining the UPP as Marketing Manager in 2016, I worked at the Ashmolean Museum and I also ran a small independent record label for a couple of years. While I am now mainly responsible for booking the films and organising events, I can occasionally be found in the cinema’s Box Office selling tickets or behind the bar serving cups of tea. Derby County fan (for my sins).
A few of my favourite films: Eraserhead, Stop Making Sense, Cabaret, The Long Day Closes, A Serious Man, Hausu, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.
Email: [email protected]
Johanna Huyg
Site Manager and Duty Manager
I joined the UPP in 2021 as one of the duty managers and projectionists and also the Site Manager. Before joining the team I was a youth and community worker and am hoping to bring some of those skills to the world of cinema. My favourite thing about working here is talking to customers about the films as they leave and being part of the UPP family!
Email: [email protected]
Ella Dawson-Gorton
Duty Manager
After volunteering on Friday nights for almost a year, I’m now the UPP’s newest recruit! Outside the cinema you can find me working or reading in Oxford’s best cafes and libraries, where I’m always available to talk about why Jennifer’s Body deserves to be part of the Criterion Collection.
Letterboxd: ellaisdrowning
Steven Endersby
Marketing and Communications Manager
I started at UPP in the summer of 2025, and am delighted to be working for a cinema I’ve frequented for many years. Setting up my laptop in the front row for a days work will never get old.
Away from UPP, I’m also the Marketing Manager for another great Oxford arts institution, the Old Fire Station, and am available for wistful discussions about Pochettino-era Tottenham Hotspur, Rubber Soul and The Velvet Underground. My Letterboxd top four is Apocalypse Now, La Chimera, Badlands and Empire Records. Damn the man, save The Empire!
Email: [email protected]
Letterboxd: enders356
Our commitment to anti-racism
The UPP is proud to support the Oxford Cultural Anti-Racism Alliance, whose Anti-Racism manifesto was launched in Spring 2021.
Over the last year, long-standing inequalities in the arts and cultural industries have been exposed more than ever – change is overdue. The cultural community in the city has come together as the Oxford Cultural Anti-Racism Alliance, creating a manifesto and action plan for the forthcoming months and years.
The manifesto shows commitment to change systems, practices and cultures in order to remove racial discrimination, and to address inequalities in representation: Oxford should be a place where ethnically diverse young people can see positive role models in creative leadership roles, find a route into a career in the arts, and establish a strong base for growth and development alongside and within the cultural organisations established here.
Together, twenty one arts and cultural organisations have signed up to the manifesto and pledged collective radical change to ensure a sustainable and diverse arts sector in the city.
What's on
Today (Monday 12th October)
17:00
Sense and Sensibility U
2h 12m
Tomorrow (Tuesday 13th October)
17:45
Sordo Cert-TBC
20:30