Screening Information

If this your first time attending, you need to collect your card and then head upstairs to the cinema

• If you’ve signed up in advance of opening night, come along and collect your membership card from our collections desk on the ground floor of the Embassy Foyer. 
• Opening night is usually always very busy, so allow plenty of time to collect your card. All full members (Individual, Discounted and Youth) will be sent a temporary digital e-pass to use on opening night only. If the line to collect your membership card is too long, you can use this pass for our opening night screening.
• If you have a three Film Sampler you will need to collect your card from the membership desk, which will be clipped each time you see a film.
• You then can enter the cinema and find yourself a seat.

Our membership desk opens 30 minutes before each screening time 

• Our volunteers run a membership desk in the Embassy foyer on the ground floor before each film. It usually opens 30 minutes before the film starts and closes 5 minutes before. This is to ensure the film screenings start and end on time and with minimal disruption.
• To avoid a wait and to make the process faster, we encourage members to join or renew memberships online. You can do this before noon on the day of the screening you want to attend. This will give our volunteers time to prepare your membership card.
• If you need to join or renew in person, please arrive at least 20 minutes before the film’s start time.  
• If you arrive later than the time described above, our volunteers may not be able to help you. 

You must show a valid membership card at the door to attend screenings

• If you’re a current member, please check your card for its expiry month. Your card is valid until the end of that month.
• Please show our volunteers at the cinema doors your valid membership cards. They keep a count of the number of people attending for health and safety reasons and for our records. If your card has expired, you will be directed to the desk downstairs to renew.
• If you are using a three film sampler, your card will be hole-punched by one of our volunteers. 
• Please note that a three film sampler is only valid for one person and cannot be shared. Once you’ve used your three passes, you can upgrade to a full membership by paying the difference in price ($80 for an adult, $70 for a student, senior or beneficiary).
• If you’re using your ‘bring a buddy’ pass, please ensure your guest is with you when you come to the cinema door, where your membership card will be hole-punched by one of our volunteers. This pass is only redeemable for one guest per full membership (one guest, once per year).

We will open the doors to the Embassy Grand 20 minutes before the screening time

• If you arrive early, there are lounge areas at the Embassy, including the Black Sparrow Bar downstairs, for you to wait in. 
• If a queue forms, please ensure that it snakes downstairs and not in front of the candy bar. 
• When we have a tight turnaround before the second screening there may be a delay in opening the cinema doors while our volunteers clean the cinema. Please be patient, and we will try to keep the second screening time as close to 8.30pm as possible.
• We recommend you arrive early enough to purchase drinks and snacks, and use the bathroom, before you enter the theatre. 

We do not allocate seating at our screenings

• As you enter the cinema you can choose where you wish to sit based on what is available. 
• We encourage members to not leave gaps between groups, especially in the centre block of seats which are most popular. 
• We reserve seats for our volunteers and members with mobility or health needs. If a seat is marked as ‘reserved’, please leave it empty to minimise disruptions to the screening.

Occasionally our 6pm screenings are very busy – we need your help to fit in as many people as possible

• It is very rare for the cinema to completely fill for our 6 p.m. screenings, but as our membership grows, it occasionally happens for our high-profile films. We’re continuing to think about ways of managing demand and might issue some new rules in the future, such as limiting which screenings members can “bring a buddy” to.
• We need to ensure that as many members have seats as possible, to minimise the chance of people missing out – this means reducing gaps in the cinema.
  • Please do not leave empty seats between groups – our screenings are too busy for this.
  • Be reasonable: holding a seat for someone on the way is fine; trying to hold a block of four or five prime seats for a long time, especially on a busy night, is not.
• Each of our screenings can seat a little over 700 people. If we approach that number, we will have to start giving up seats being held to the next people in the queue. This doesn’t apply to members who have already been into the cinema, but are picking up snacks or using the restrooms, and our volunteers, who will already have seats reserved. Please cooperate with our volunteers as we manage this. We appreciate this might feel unfair if your friends are just a few seconds away from the cinema, but we ask you to spare a thought for member #701, being forced to wait outside the door as twenty or thirty people are allowed to skip the line.
• Anyone who can’t fit into our 6pm screening is welcome to come back for our 8:30 screening. The later screenings regularly have many more seats available than our 6 p.m. ones.
• Our volunteers on duty have our backing to manage these screenings. Please help them out by following their instructions.

We are committed to making our screenings accessible to all members

• Accessible seating can be found in Row F, the front row of the main seating block as you come in. This is available to anyone with mobility or health needs, along with their partner or friend. There will be ‘reserved’ cards on these seats.
• We remove seats to make space for wheelchairs and can remove more if you need.
• For our designated accessible seating, self-recognition is the order of the day. If you have mobility or health needs, including issues or those caused by a temporary injury or illness, and find the steps too taxing, please sit in one of these seats and enjoy the film. Please be aware that not all needs are visible.
• There is also a lift to the left of the entrance foyer, so that your whole experience can be step-free!
• Bluetooth headsets are available at the Candy Bar for anyone who might have trouble hearing the film.

We start the film at the screening time

• We attempt to start the film as close to the advertised screening time as possible (6pm or 8.30pm). We do not play trailers or advertisements before the film, so please ensure you’re seated by the advertised start time. 
• We occasionally have announcements from committee members or guest speakers. These start at the advertised start time and are kept brief.

When the film ends, please exit the cinema promptly and dispose of your rubbish

• Once the credits end, please make your way out of the cinema in a timely manner and throw rubbish away into the bins provided. Glasses can be returned to the side of the candy bar counter. 
• Our volunteers clean and tidy the cinema after screenings. At times we have some tight turnarounds between the first and second screening, so we would appreciate your help to keep things moving smoothly.

Please treat Wellington Film Society members and volunteers with patience and respect

• Our screenings are possible thanks to the dedication and efforts of a small number of volunteers. Please be polite and follow any instructions they might give.
• Be considerate of the viewing experiences of those around you – set your phones to silent or switch them off before the film, and keep your conversations until after the film finishes. If you notice someone else using their phone, you’re welcome to politely tell them to stop using it.