The Electric Picture House Cinema in Wotton-under-Edge has announced its programme for the first few weeks in August.

Having been obliged to close in March, the independent venue will be open to the public once again on Saturday August 1.

The first film will be comedy drama Military Wives (12A), showing on Saturday 1 and Tuesday August 4. The same week will also see two screenings of the acclaimed French romance Portrait of a Lady on Fire (15), on Sunday 2 and Thursday August 6.

These were the two titles the cinema had been about to screen in March, before venues across the country closed their doors.

After that, there will be a selection of classics from the archives, including 80s favourites Dirty Dancing (Friday August 7) and Back to the Future (Saturday August 15), Spike Lee’s drama Do the Right Thing (Sunday 9 and Tuesday August 11), and the comedy Some Like It Hot (Thursday 13 and Sunday August 16), starring Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon and Marilyn Monroe.

Gareth Negus, managing director of the Picture House, said: "After the longest intermission ever, we’re excited to be welcoming back our old customers, and hoping to see some new faces too.

"We’ve been working on a programme featuring great films from the 1950s to the present, and we’re also looking forward to being able to include some new releases.”

While the cinema will only be open for four days a week at first, the managers hope to increase the number of shows during the autumn as more new films are released.

Social distancing means that the cinema will only be able to sell approximately a quarter of its 100 seats. For this reason, advance booking is recommended if possible. Tickets can be booked on www.wottoncinema.com.

For details of how the cinema is working to keep staff and guests safe, visit bit.ly/2CNM0Xm