This is the screen of a cinema, and although it is very large, a city has forgotten it.

Now, in a documentary about ragtags in a bunch of movies with a DIY punk spirit, how Bristol’s IMAX screen recovers a Feelgood story that will properly premiere on a vast screen this month.

The big picture describes how IMAX was open in the early 2007, but was shut down when finances didn’t work – abandoned during the Renaissance as a grassroots community cinema.

Director Arthur Caruty said he lived in Bristol for 10 years and even realized there was an IMAX screen there.

“I know the building – the columns on the harbor side, the red brick tower, but right next to the aquarium, I thought it was a huge fish tank.

“I found it wasn’t removed or turned into something else. It just stayed there.

Bristol is full of film history. It is the birthplace of Cary Grant, the home of film pioneer William Friese-Greene and Wallace & Gromit creator Aardman. Forty cinemas and countless movies that were once run in Bristol were filmed there. UNESCO designated it as the City of Film.

With a 19m by 15m screen, Bristol Imax was once regarded as the future of cinemas in southwestern England. The projector is the size of a small car and needs to be cooled with water pumped from the harbour.

But the model didn't work properly, and after closing, the spongy auditorium was largely forgotten and unused until film enthusiasts Timon Singh and Dave Taylor appeared.

Singh is the founder of Bristol Bad Movie Club, known as glorious films, and Taylor is the owner of the Bristol agency’s 20th-century films, and is said to be the longest video store in the world.

They recalled the existence of the IMAX screen and asked in 2022 whether the Bristol Aquarium could host a festival to mark the 40th anniversary of the video store. The aquarium agreed, and the spring of the year launched the Taboo World Festival to showcase horror, fantasy, science fiction and martial arts movies.

There are challenges. They couldn't use the IMAX projector and had to bring their own Christie's. The opening scene of Katie's movie is where Taylor replaces the lights in the projector. Taylor, with the music in the backstage, explained how it would stand out like a "little bomb" if they got it wrong.

Taylor said they had no money, no expertise, no safety nets, and effectively "squat" in the cinema. But he said they found someone who showed them how to "crack" the space. “It’s all grassroots, no lawyers, no money, you just find a way to get the project off the ground and survive.”

They kept the prices down and the festival proved a huge blow. Audiences have been on the rise and the space has been renamed Bristol Megascreen.

Taylor said he felt a bit like “atonement” when he left the movie theaters (back to the day) video stores and now streaming services.

Dr. Charlotte Crofts, professor of film art at Uwe Bristol, said the screen revival was a "very important moment" for the city's independent film culture.

“Its revival has injected important energy into a landscape that thrives on a unique cinematic experience. For too long, this excellent infrastructure has surfaced, and its reactivated expresses the power of community-driven programs.”

Crofts is the director of the Cary Rese Home Festival, which celebrates Grant's Bristol roots.

She said: “From a personal standpoint, giants have quickly become one of my favorite venues in Bristol. The sheer scale of the speech offers an unparalleled immersive experience.

“The opportunity to showcase Kari’s home holiday on this screen makes especially meaningful, allowing viewers to connect with classic movies in a truly public environment. It emphasizes the lasting importance of a shared theatrical experience.”

Caruty's film will be screened on May 28 at this year's Taboo World Film Festival with cult classics including Alien, Tremor, Water World and Whale God.

The history of IMAX is summarized online on the large picture's strap line: "Built in a thousand years, desolate for ten years, and the people have recovered."