When was the last time you sat and watched a movie without checking your phone?

Be it Facebook or a quick email from the boss, our lives are now plagued by a host of distractions. Multi tasking has become such a part of our lives, that we forget the good old times when going to watch a show in the theatre or a movie in the cinema was an event within itself. With over 67% of mobile owners, checking their phone for messages, alerts, or calls even when they don’t notice their phone ringing, it is safe to say that these palm sized machines are busy stealing our attention away.

Gone are the summer days of drive-ins and outdoor cinemas. It’s all about immersive cinema now. What is that, you ask? Immersive cinema is a new way that cinephiles can now enjoy their movie going experience. And it is exactly what it sounds like, no longer a passive member of the audience, as an immersive cinemagoer, you now get to interact with actors and the film itself.

And with these places encouraging you to dress up in the style of the movie, you get be a co-contributor to the film. At the premiere of Life of Pi, in Paris, thanks to Fox France, one even got to sit in a boat and enjoy the movie in a pool!

Secret Cinema, a London based company, has produced a month long event, set up in collaboration with Future Cinema with the 80’s hit, ‘Back to the Future’. This showing has had the largest budget yet. There is a lot to see and do before the film begins. Live music, fairground rides and delicious cocktails make the evening a treat. Our very own, Georgina and Alysia made their way down for an evening to remember, and were blown away with the amount of effort that went into the creation and execution. Armed with pyrotechnic effects, and an entire stage set to match Hill Valley,

the show is already booked solid all through August.

Why has immersive cinema become so popular? Even we, here at LoveLove have fallen under the spell.

Is it because we really love movies, or is it because immersive cinema brings back the main reason why films became popular in the first place?

To give us a break from reality, to provide an escape. To break away from the dreary routine of our lives. That’s what films have helped all of us do since they came around.

But somewhere in the middle, technology gained enough momentum and wedged its way into our movie going experience.

But all the blame cannot rest on our handheld devices as a whole; our short attention span contributes to this as well. The recent surveys have proven that the attention span of the average member of the public has dipped lower than that of a goldfish!

And it’s not just films, but theatre joins hands in this new experience, as well. A famous retelling of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, courtesy of immersive theatre producers Rift, takes you through an entire building in South London, making the audience dart in and out of the acts.

The world around us is changing and adapting, making immersive cinema the latest trend. But is it here to stay?

Cinema addicts like us sure hope it is!

Alysia Wildman, Georgina Hurcombe and Jennifer Crompton At Back to the future Event