THE lights are on, the cameras will be rolling and the action should begin again this weekend during the reopening of an iconic cinema in East Finchley.

The £1.1 million restoration project has finished at the Phoenix Cinema, in High Road, after almost six months of work.

The scaffolding has been removed to reveal the refurbished Art Deco building which features new display lighting, repainted walls and a café balcony overlooking the high street.

A screening of the new film Tamara Drewe, which is released nationwide today, is being held tonight at the cinema, and is due to feature a live Q&A session with director Stephen Frears.

Paul Homer, chief executive of The Phoenix Cinema Trust, said: “I just feel exhausted, emotional, excited and delighted.

“I am so pleased we have done it. The building is looking wonderful. We have talked about it for so many years and to have it done is just amazing.

“We know what we want it to bring to the area but I am going to let the people judge it. We are just looking forward to having the cinema back and opening it for the people to experience.”

Work to restore the cinema began in March and the opening forms part of the celebrations marking the centenary of the building.

It has been recognised as being one of the longest continuously running, purpose built picture houses in the country, having first opened in 1910.

A series of presentations and events are due to be held over the weekend in recognition of the cinema's history and relevance both in the community and in the wider film world.

Visitors to the cinema on Sunday can be part of the first in a set of ten free monthly screenings which will each represent a decade the building has been in operation.

The screenings, which will this week feature silent films with accompaniment from a pianist, start at 2pm, and heritage officer Eleanor Sier said: “The launch of our exciting century of cinema series coincides with celebrating the centenary of the cinema.

“The first screening will recreate the opening of the cinema more than a century later.

“It will hopefully give an insight into how the cinema going experience has changed. They were silent films, but they weren't always black and white and the cinema was not always silent.”

For more information visit www.phoenixcinema.co.uk/education/heritage/a-century-of-cinema/ or to reserve your seats call the Box Office on 020 8444 6789.