Many of our regular supporters and customers will be aware that we have been printing a monthly brochure for over 30 years. Over this period much has changed but the brochure has pretty much stayed the same as it was back when ET first phoned home in 1982 (apart from its basic shape and size, of course).

I hope it won't come as a complete surprise to you, then, that we have finally reached the point where the brochure has become a luxury none of us can afford. Producing the monthly brochure uses significant resources, and we believe we can use those resources in a more sustainable, smarter way.

I am aware that this change may upset some people and not be to everyone's liking, and for that I am truly sorry - whatever your view I very much hope that you will stick with us through this change. Please believe me when I tell you that it is not a decision we have come to lightly (it has taken us three years of deliberation, after all), and I would really like you to understand our reasons, and to highlight the alternative ways you can get the information you need.

Some of the reasons for this change include the advances in communications technology that have taken place over the last few years. When we opened 30 years ago we didn't have a website, a large email list, and busy social networks. You are probably aware that since we made the move to flexible cinema programming back in September 2010 the brochure has not included a calendar of what's on when, and in fact frequently it does not include all of the films we are planning on screening, as these decisions are being made on much shorter lead times.

To find out times and titles for a specific date you can either: go online to watershed.co.uk/calendar, call Box Office on (0117) 927 5100 or pick up the printed weekly listings at Watershed (which we will still print). With all of these channels of information and communication we know that the brochure is no longer serving its original purpose.

To try and minimise inconvenience and to help you to continue to plan in advance, we will also be introducing a new monthly email subscription, which will list all of the confirmed events and titles for the coming month plus a coming soon feature.

It is important for us to hear your thoughts. If you would like to talk to us or find out more about the reasons behind this change, please joins us at our Open Meeting on Tue 19 March at 19:00, where you will have the opportunity to learn more about our thinking, ask questions and tell us what you think.

If you can't make the meeting or wish to discuss this sooner then you can always email me louise@watershed.co.uk, drop me a line at Watershed, 1 Canons Road, Harbourside, Bristol BS1 5TX, call me on (0117) 927 6444 or leave a message at the end of this article.

Thank you for your continued support of Watershed, I look forward to hearing from you.

Yours sincerely

Louise Gardner, Head of Communications

louise@watershed.co.uk

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