Frequently Asked Questions

WSC is one of the largest societies on campus and is a cinema run by students, for the members and guests of the University of Warwick. Since we were founded back in 1973, we’ve been showing a wide variety of films – from Hollywood blockbusters to the more obscure artistic films that didn’t get the cinema release they deserved, as well as the classics that you want to see again.

Films are screened in Lecture Theatre 3 (L3) on the Science Concourse. This is situated over the bridge from the library. Click here for a map.

There are screenings on five or six nights each week with two shows on some nights. For more information click here to see our schedule.

Posters and loyalty cards containing our schedule, as well as other forms of publicity, are available for free from our publicity table. This is located near where we sell tickets, in the Science Concourse corridor opposite the Library. The Film Schedule is always available on this website.

Tickets are available in the Science Concourse corridor leading up to L3, from 20 minutes before the film starts. Alternatively, tickets can be purchased online by clicking on a film on our schedule and following the link under "Buy Tickets on the SU Website". In order to get a good seat and to allow the show to start promptly please arrive in good time. Tickets are sold on a first come first served basis.

Ticket prices for standard screenings can be found here. Prices for special events such as for The AllNighter are set per event and will be publicised around the event.

In addition, membership of the society costs £3.50 and includes one free standard film – this means you can save 50p by becoming a member if you already have a Societies Federation membership (more information below)!

Members of the public from outside the University are also very welcome, subject to the External ticket price.

We accept payment by cash at the tills on the night. Credit or debit cards can be used to book tickets by visiting our schedule and clicking on the film, then choosing a time under "Buy Tickets on the SU Website". Alternatively, book direct on the SU Website via a film's "Event" page. Unfortunately we are not able to accept credit or debit cards at the tills.

We have a loyalty card scheme, where you receive a stamp for every ticket you purchase at a standard screening. After collecting four stamps, you can redeem a free ticket! You can pick up a loyalty card from our publicity table on the Science Concourse or at our tills. More information can be found on the Loyalty Card Terms and Conditions page.

Annual membership costs £3.50, and is valid until the end of the academic year during which it is bought. In order to join us, you will need to be a member of the University of Warwick Students’ Union Societies Federation - details of which can be found on our Tickets and Fees page and on the Students’ Union website.

Memberships are available on the door and can be obtained when you purchase your tickets. Memberships can also be purchased online using the Students’ Union website and at the Students’ Union reception located in SUHQ.

Joining WSC enables you to get even cheaper tickets to our films, for just £3.00.

We also make several films a year completely free for members! Having membership also enables us to keep you up to date with WSC events and news by email (we promise to keep the frequency to a minimum, don’t worry). That’s not it, though – becoming a member also means you can become a member of our crew and help get involved with the running of the society (more information below).

Yes – you can buy tickets for you and any guests from outside the University. We do not sell term or annual passes – see Where can I buy a ticket? for more information.

Absolutely, and you get your first film for free! Just show your University card at the tills and ask for your free staff ticket.

Yes, you are more than welcome to attend!

We do not offer reserved seating, and tickets are sold on a first come, first served basis. There is usually plenty of space for you to sit with your friends, but if you want to guarantee seats together we would recommend arriving early. We typically start selling tickets at the tills twenty minutes before the advertised start time, and tickets are sold online as soon as the film is confirmed.

The use of L3 is loaned to us by the University and hence as one of the conditions of use we must respect and enforce the usual “No Food/Drink/Smoking” rule.

There is space available for customers using wheelchairs, which can be found on the balcony level by the tables as you enter the cinema. If you require any assistance on the night, please don’t hesitate to speak to the Duty Manager, who will be wearing a black WSC-branded polo.

No! We are proud to show cinema-format films digitally on our cutting-edge 4K RGB laser projector, and we also show 35mm film, for which we fully equipped with every commercially available professional digital cinema sound format (Dolby Digital, DTS and SDDS) – meaning if there’s a digital soundtrack to a film, we'll be using it! We have over 8kW of amplification power so the speech on the soundtrack is crystal clear while the effects sound as the director intended.

We also have the ability (and inclination!) to show films in 70mm – a format not generally seen outside of the best cinemas in London’s West End. Whenever we can, we will screen a film in 70mm for its improved picture and sound quality, and we usually schedule a 70mm showing of older films during each of the Autumn and Spring terms.

We have a number of different areas you can get involved with, including stewarding, projection, publicity, marketing, and IT. For more information email us at info@warwick.film or arrive early for a regular screening and tell whoever’s about that you’d like to get involved. Please have a look at the Getting Involved section on our website.

The reason most commonly given is that if you help out a reasonable amount you are entitled to free tickets to any of our screenings for you and a guest. However, there is more to it than that. Plenty of people join the society just to take advantage of cheaper tickets and to recieve our newsletter, so becoming a crew member of WSC is more like becoming an ordinary member of the university’s other societies (except it’s free once you already have membership!) and gives you the opportunity to write reviews, learn how to work a film projector, write something on your C.V. and – most importantly – have fun along the way.

If you wish to contact us to ask if we’ve found an item, please email the Chief Duty Manager at chiefdm@warwick.film. Valuable lost property is taken to the Security Gatehouse at the end of screenings for that evening, but a record is kept of any items found and the action taken.

We provide advertising opportunities. Please see the advertising page page for more details.

We always welcome suggestions for our upcoming schedule! You can either come along to the termly programming meeting, which is open to all members of WSC and will be advertised on our Facebook page page, or you can email the Films Officer at filmsofficer@warwick.film.

We are always looking to collaborate with other societies. Please get in touch with the Vice President at vice-president@warwick.film.