There were elegant dresses, giant screens, champagne and a red carpet, but this version of the 80th Academy Awards took place far from the bright lights of Hollywood.
When Dorothy Browns Cinema in Arrowtown hosted its annual ‘‘Oscars'' bash on Monday night, it was with all the glitz and glamour of the real thing, albeit on a much smaller scale.
Cinema owner Philippa Archibald said she had been running the event for about five years and it had always been popular with locals and out-of-town movie fans, who returned year after year from as far away as Alexandra.
This time however, was ‘‘a very quiet year'' Ms Archibald said.
‘‘I think that maybe it's that the lead-up has been a bit awkward,'' she said, referring to the long-running Hollywood writers' strike that had threatened to cancel the Academy Awards.
‘‘I would assume it's because people have not been looking forward to it because they think it's been cancelled.''
The Academy Awards show had been pre-recorded earlier in the day and commercial breaks were edited out so attendees at the cinema bash in Arrowtown could enjoy uninterrupted celebrity viewing.
In keeping with previous years, there were also various prizes awarded during an intermission, including ‘‘best dressed'', ‘‘best celebrity look-alike'' and ‘‘best Academy Award knowledge''.
Ms Archibald said despite the slow ticket sales this year, the event was ‘‘still a fun thing to do'', and offered the perfect night out for people who enjoyed movies and dressing up.
Arrowtown women Claire Gourlay and Jil Leydon said they came to Dorothy Browns' mini-awards night every year because they loved the cinema and ‘‘every girl likes to get her frock out''.
