About us
Oxford’s only 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 1,000 local investors bought shares in The Ultimate Picture Palace Community Cinema.
Our history
The Ultimate Picture Palace is Oxford’s oldest purpose-built cinema and one of the oldest cinemas in the UK. Built in 1911, it has a rich and varied history.
Community ownership
The UPP is planning to become a community-owned business. It’s a unique opportunity – and we need your help to make it happen.
Meet the team
Micaela Tuckwell
Executive Director
Tom Jowett
Head of Programming and Marketing
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 selling cups of tea.
A small and non-exhaustive list of my favourite films includes: Eraserhead, Stop Making Sense, Cabaret, Hausu, and Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives.
Email: tom@uppcinema.com
Kit Finnie
Lead Projectionist and Duty Manager
I joined UPP in 2021 as Duty Manager and Projection Room Lead. Working with projectors is something I’ve wanted to do since I was little, visiting my local independent cinema in Lincolnshire. I am still excited by even the most basic processes of ingesting and testing films. As well as working at the UPP, I am a freelance poet and artist. My favourite film is probably La Dolce Vita, though Grease 2 is a close second.
Email: kit@uppcinema.com
Johanna Huyg
Site Manager and Duty Manager
I am a new member of staff at the UPP and one of the duty managers and projectionists. 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: jo@uppcinema.com
Ash Verjee
Duty Manager
I joined UPP in 2015 and work twice a week as Duty Manager. Outside of UPP, I am a composer, writer, and Drama teacher. As well as facilitating ticket sales and projection when on shift, I am available for chats at the box office window about (but not limited to): film composers, Sci-Fi and Horror, cinematic television, Vincent Gallo, Denis Villeneuve, and why Alien³ is the best Alien movie.
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 (Tuesday 29th November)
18:00
Living 12A
20:15
Return to Dust PG
2h 14m | Mandarin Chinese w/ English subtitlesTomorrow (Wednesday 30th November)
15:30
No Bears 12A
1h 47m | Persian w/ English subtitles18:00
Return to Dust PG
2h 14m | Mandarin Chinese w/ English subtitles21:00