Sadly, since the Museum of the Moving Image closed on the Southbank in 1999, London has been bereft of a dedicated museum that shows and tells the story of cinema.

As a young teenager I adored MOMI. It brought the films I’d loved since childhood to life and introduced me to cinema’s pre-history (I knew the word ‘zoetrope’ from the opening credits of Francis Ford Coppola movies but had no idea how one worked until seeing it in action at the museum).

MOMI’s tenure on the Southbank lasted just over a decade yet its flame does still flicker in a rather unexpected location…

Anyone interested in cinema history – or, like me, nostalgic for the old MOMI – should make their way to a converted care home on a residential backstreet in the seaside town of Deal where, behind a beautiful mural of Buster Keaton, they’ll delight in finding the Kent Museum of the Moving Image.

It’s a passion project for David Francis, former curator of the National Film Archive and one of the team behind the original MOMI, and his wife, academic and writer Joss Marsh. The couple founded the museum in 2018 and in 2023 gave it a major overhaul, allowing them to display more of their vast collection.

I visited for the first time a few months ago and was thrilled to see a ‘filsoscope’ on display. I talk about these flipbooks that Victorian cinematographer Henry W. Short invented on my Islington’s Big Screens walk and the museum’s collection of paraphernalia related to the very early years of moving pictures is particularly strong. You’ll find magic lantern slides and various ‘peep show’ type contraptions.

The two bigger exhibitions when I was there were on World War I and Ealing film posters – both full of surprises. The museum also has an excellent second-hand bookshop with hundreds of titles – many out of print – on sale.

Joss’ father Terrence Marsh was an award-winning production designer with Oscars for his work on Dr Zhivago and Oliver! Joss told me her Dad had accidentally inspired the museum’s creation when he told her over the phone he had just thrown a bunch of his original sketches for Lawrence of Arabia on the bonfire while having a clear out! An exhibition on the art of production design that will include Terrence Marsh’s surviving drawings is in the works..