A major revamp of one of Scotland's best loved cinemas, the Glasgow Film Theatre, is to be followed by a further £1.2 million refurbishment by 2015.
Today the GFT's new 60-seat third screen opens, the new Cinema 3 taking the place of the former Cafe Cosmo in the building which has been entertaining movie audiences since 1939.
The new screen, which will allow the cinema to show both more niche films as well as longer runs of more mainstream movies, is part of a broader redevelopment of the building, which includes a more dramatic foyer with a blaze of new LED lighting, a new box office and soundproofing.
However the changes to the cinema in the city's centre will not stop there - a further stage of redevelopment will include the re-installation of a butterfly-plan stairwell, a new coffee bar, a lift and revamped toilet facilities.
The first film to be shown in the new screen will be the documentary Leviathan today at 1.15pm.
The addition of the screen will allow both an expansion of the theatre's programme, a home to the Glasgow Youth Film Festival and further space for the annual Glasgow Film Festival.
The box office has now moved to the front of the lobby and there are plans to restore the cinema's original terrazzo flooring.
The new screen has a "top of the range" digital projection system with surround sound from eight speakers.
The GFT attracts more than 200,000 people a year and the expansion of its screens is set to add to this number.
Jaki McDougall, chief executive of the GFT, said: "We are the most successful cinema of our kind in the whole of the UK. This not all about change, it is about safeguarding it for future generations of film viewers."
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