Long before the days of Marvel blockbusters and multiplex cinemas, The Phoenix film society in Southampton was entertaining audiences with an array of silent and black and white films.

Founded in 1931, six years after the UK’s first official film society, ‘The Film Society,’ was brought to life in London, The Phoenix has become a regular meeting place for cinephiles on the south coast for nearly a century.

Showcasing the best of world cinema with 26 films screened each year, The Phoenix has more than 150 members that meet weekly at the 225-seat Southampton University Students’ Union cinema.

Film fan Stephen Edwards has been a member of The Phoenix for more than 30 years and was formerly the chair of the society.

Stephen said there was “nothing else like it in Southampton.”

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He said: “Our screening room has the best quality of any cinema in Southampton.

“Most film societies rely on a disc, but we show digital films that are downloaded, and it really enhances the picture quality.

“We might be the oldest film society in the UK, we’re certainly one of the oldest in the world, because there aren’t many that are still going that started way back in the 1930s.

“Back then they were showing silent film and now it’s completely evolved to the point where there’s sound and technicolour and we have the ability to show most films that have been made all over the world.

“This week we screened Pedro Almodovar’s English-language film debut, The Room Next Door, so we have a very diverse audience and show a diverse range of films.”

In more than three decades as a member of the film society, Stephen, 69, said there had been a lot of changes in that time.

“When I first moved to Southampton more than 40 years ago, I was interested in film, and the film scene has really expanded,” he said.

“Cinema chains will have the latest releases for a few weeks and fill their screens with them, but we’ll show anything which is a unique selling point – it doesn’t matter how old it is or what language it’s in – we have something for everyone, and our members have a say in what they want to watch.

“It’s a great community to be a part of, we meet every week, it’s well attended, and everyone has a good time.”