DORCHESTER'S Odeon cinema has won a national award.

The Brewery Square venue was crowned Cinema of the Year for a company with 25 screens or over at the 2015 Screen Awards.

The county town cinema, which opened at the former Eldridge Pope Brewery site in 2012, beat off tough competition from fellow finalists including the Curzon in Victoria, the Picturehouse in Hackney and Vue Entertainment in Shepherds Bush.

General manager Alan Escott was presented with the award at a glittering ceremony hosted by broadcaster Edith Bowman at The Brewery in London last month in front of around 500 guests.

The Screen Awards celebrates the agencies, distributors, media planners, marketers and cinemas producing the best design, campaigns, premieres and trailers of the past year.

Judges credited the success of Odeon Dorchester to the innovation of the local management and agreed that the team’s efforts were a good example to other cinemas.

Mr Escott said the award was a great recognition for the work of the whole team at the Dorchester cinema.

He said: “We are so proud to have achieved national recognition for our cinema.

"We’ve worked hard and battled the odds to change perceptions in the local area, and the venue is dedicated to providing the best possible cinema experience for Dorchester."

Screen International editor, Matt Mueller, said: "Screen is delighted that the industry continues to embrace these awards, which are now in their sixth year.

"I’m thrilled that our expert panel of judges have recognized such a worthy and impressive group of winners – from across the industry spectrum, major studios to sole operators.

"All of our nominees and winners should be praised for their outstanding work in connecting films to audience’s right across the UK."

Odeon Dorchester screens a variety of content, including live broadcasts of National Theatre, Royal Ballet and Royal Opera House productions as well as the latest movies.

For further information about the cinema visit odeon.co.uk/cinemas/dorchester/214/