The Playlist Date - Ali & Ava and Manon & Mason | Plymouth Arts Cinema | Independent Cinema for Everyone

The Playlist Date – Ali & Ava and Manon & Mason

Watching the film Ali & Ava reminded us of our first date which just so happens to be exactly 5 years ago today, the day Plymouth Arts Cinema starts its first screening of the film.

by Manon & Mason, PAC Staff

The date was a stroll around Plymouth seafront together but with one extra condition. We decided to make up a playlist of some of our favourite songs and listen to them using a headphone splitter. The idea came along after our realisation that, with the growth of digital music and streaming music, we felt that lack of group listening. Music has become more personal than ever. We missed the days at college sitting in a common room or a pub with a good jukebox. With the headphones splitter, this was our chance to share the music that meant the most to us.

As we set off along Plymouth Hoe we had a rough plan of what direction we would head but mostly the music wrote our narrative for that day. Whether it was being drawn towards the sea listening to The Ocean by Richard Hawley or dancing along the backstreets like a raver to Life Is Sweet by The Chemical Brothers, we always had a story to tell about which track we chose. We were in our own element skipping along the cobbles of Royal William Yard. Oblivious to on goers was Common People by Pulp locked into our ears through the headphones splitter whilst chanting into the night.

By sharing some of our favourite music not only did we share stories about our lives, we also discovered new genres or artists. We allowed each other to become open and accepting to music that might have not come across our radar or interested us before in the past. We created new memories, as each song became associated with the places we walked through during the day, which turned into the night. Often we stumbled across songs we both loved like Shine on you Crazy Dimond by Pink Floyd. The two of us sat there in the night watching the water shimmer as the lights blinked from nearby boats around The Barbican. It was a magical moment and a day we will certainly never forget.

Enveloped in music, humour and emotion, Ali & Ava is a heartfelt contemporary love story written and directed by BAFTA-nominated Clio Barnard. It’s screening at Plymouth Arts Cinema from Friday 25th – Thursday 31st March, and if you come to the Friday screening you’ll be in with a chance to win a record player or a mixtape sweet tin!