Wales on Sunday gave us a glowing report saying Sol Cinema is 'one of the UK's most unusual cinemas'

Mae’n debyg mai The Sol Cinema yw’r theatr ffilm fwyaf anarferol yn y DU, gyda’i gadeiriau moethus a thywyswyr wedi’u gwisgo’n smart - ond eto i gyd wedi’i phweru gan yr haul. Mae’n eistedd wyth o oedolion (neu 16 o bobl ifanc cyfeillgar), mae’r sinema symudol wedi teithio’r wlad, wedi’i bweru gan ynni solar, gan roi'r cyfle i bobl weld fideos byr am destunau amgylcheddol ysbrydoledig ac yn eu hannog i gymryd camau positif yn eu bywydau dyddiol.

Mae grant y Loteri wedi pweru’r sinema ar daith o amgylch Cymru, Lloegr a’r Alban, ble mae wedi dangos ffilmiau yn ardaloedd mor amrywiol â gwyl gerddorol T in the Park yn yr Alban, digwyddiadau cymunedol gwledig, ysgolion a hyd yn oed yng nghanol coedwig. “Gan ein bod wedi ein pweru yn solar, gallwn droi i fyny a dangos ffilmiau yn unrhyw le,” esbonia'r tafluniwr Paul O’Connor. “Nid oes cyfyngiad o gwbl ar y lleoedd rhyfedd a rhyfeddol y gallwn ymweld â hwy."

Defnyddiwyd arian y Loteri yn bennaf i brynu batris lithiwm i'r sinema (carafán o'r 1960au sydd wedi'u trosi) y mae eu hangen i storio Golau'r Haul i'w defnyddio fel ynni adnewyddadwy.

Mae’r sinema yn dangos ffilmiau byrion (rhwng un a 10 munud o hyd) a wneir gan gynhyrchwyr ffilmiau ac sy’n mynd i'r afael â gwahanol feysydd ar yr amgylchedd, o fygythiad newid yn yr hinsawdd i bwysigrwydd cynnal gwybodaeth ynglyn â chrefftau coetir hynafol. Gyda llyfrgell fawr o ffilmiau i ddewis ohoni, gall staff y sinema ddewis ffilmiau i gyd-fynd ag oed a diddordebau’r gynulleidfa.

“Mae’r ffilmiau yn anelu at gymell pobl i wneud newidiadau yn eu bywydau a chymryd camau cadarnhaol,” dywed Paul. “Dylai’r prosiect weithredu fel catalydd am newid.” Ynghyd ag addysgu pobl trwy'r ffilmiau, mae'r prosiect hefyd wedi defnyddio digwyddiadau cymunedol i siarad am newid yn yr hinsawdd, yn dangos yr arddangosfa panel solar ac yn esbonio sut y mae 100% o ynni adnewyddadwy'r sinema yn dod o'r haul.

Mae The Sol Cinema wedi bod yn llwyddiannus ym mhobman mae wedi teithio, ac wedi dangos ffilmiau ysbrydoledig i filoedd o bobl. Mae’r cyfryngau lleol a chenedlaethol wedi rhoi sylw i'r theatr ffilmiau unigryw gan gynnwys Newyddion y BBC ac ITV Wales.

“Mae pobl yn ciwio ym mhobman yr ydym yn mynd i gael profiad o'r sinema," dywed Paul. “Ac wrth giwio, mae pobl yn dechrau siarad â’i gilydd felly erbyn iddyn nhw fynd i mewn, maen nhw gyfeillgar ac ar ôl hynny yn trafod y materion a archwiliwyd yn y ffilm."
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South Wales Evening Post sent their reporter deep inside the Sol Cinema.
www.thisissouthwales.co.uk/

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OWNERS of the world's smallest cinema — housed in a caravan — are hoping to win a top prize in a competition which will enable them to support local events.The Sol Cinema is the brainchild of Swansea charity, Undercurrents, who built the solar-powered mobile cinema last year to tour Britain.But organisers now hope a cash boost from a competition set up by The Co-operative will make covering low-budget local events more possible.
Paul O'Connor, spokesman for the charity, said the £5,000 top prize would enable them to take the tiny 10ft caravan to more local events rather than travel further afield.We have been inundated with calls from all over Britain since our first event in Dublin for St Patrick's Day last year and we are still getting multiple bookings every day.
 "We have to pick and choose the events we go to because some of them don't have the budget to hire the cinema, but if we win the competition we will be focusing on the smaller and more quirky events around Swansea, like the Penclawdd Festival of the Tides."
The caravan, which was originally built in 1965 and designed to be towed behind a Mini, is now fitted with velvet couches, a red carpet and photovoltaic panels which use energy from the sun to power the LED projector and charge the lithium-ion batteries day and night. The caravan also contains a large archive of ten-minute films with environmental themes and is designed to be seat eight adults in palatial comfort.
It is a lot of fun and the whole thing is a performance piece which can be enjoyed by anyone.
"We hope the people who know about us will vote in the competition," said Mr O'Connor.
"We were in 16th place this morning and by lunch time we were 13th. "With any luck, the votes will keep climbing."
Voting closes on April 20 and voters can choose their favourite entry by logging on to www.co-operative.coop/join-the-revolution
       

COULD this be the smallest solar-powered cinema in the world?
This micro movie house powered entirely by the sun, is fully mobile and can be towed behind a car.
The Swansea-based cinema can accommodate eight adults and has a full library of comedy, quirky films, movie shorts and music videos.The ultra intimate Sol Cinema has been put together by the city’s arts charity Undercurrents.
Spokesman Paul O’Connor said: “The Sol Cinema has been lavished with pride and style. We use a low energy LED projector showing short movies in cinematic surroundings.
“We use lithium batteries to store the energy from the sun to power the cinema all day and night. Our photovoltaic panels harness the sunlight so we never run out of power.
“We are currently in the running to win £5,000 from the Co-operative for the best project to educate about climate change.
“Our audiences at the moment range from children to pensioners.”
Read More http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/2011/04/05/mobile-micro-movie-house-powered-by-the-sun-91466-28458726/#ixzz1Idg6yFJH