Founder of the 'hyper-social, communal' immersive screening events Secret Cinema and co-organiser of the March For Europe, Fabien Riggall has combined his passion for films and ideas about community in increasingly imaginative ways over the last few years. We got the chance to talk to him about London, inclusivity and activism prior to this weekend's march.

Eli Goldstone: Secret Cinema has become a major London institution. Is it important to you that you use your cultural clout to bring people together for things like the March for Europe?

Fabien Riggall: We can all use the power of cultural activism to harness political change. Secret Cinema is a socially responsible organisation which believes in bringing people together to tell the truth through culture. Creative groups like us have a responsibility to act during these uncertain times, and like many people I felt passionate enough about the Brexit vote to try and do something about it. Having seen separate petitions against 'Brexit' started by Mark Thomas (a web developer from Plymouth) and Keiran MacDermott (a 28 year old project manager from London) on Facebook, I came on board as joint organiser and March for Europe was born. The 50,000-strong march on July 2nd - the largest political mobilisation of 2016 - brought protestors from 8 to 80 years old from across the country. It was a wonderful, positive display - people coming together to face down the political chaos post-referendum.

Eli: What are the different ways that people can get involved with the March For Europe movement?

Fabien: We are asking people to help spread the word to build the 3rd September march - together, we can send out a strong message to parliament that Britain's future lies at the heart of Europe. March for Europe is a small collection of individuals, with volunteers helping on everything from stewarding to contacting guest speakers. We want to spread a positive message of hope and European unity - creating a colourful protest, with people making their own banners, painting their faces blue, and making sure the public's voice is heard during any future negotiations.

Eli: What are the different ways that you have incorporated politics into your events?

Fabien: I believe that all art is in a way political. Culture shakes people up, encouraging an audience to feel something real. This is the nature of Secret Cinema - for all of our shows, the audience becomes an essential part of the world - actors who take away the message of a film into their lives outside. For Dr Strangelove, which we staged earlier this year, we gave people the opportunity to live through a nuclear stand-off between America and Russia - we rebuilt the film's famous 'war room' and asked individual audience members to tell a crowd of strangers what they would do if their finger was over the nuclear button. It was exhilarating to hear their responses.

Eli: Last year you took Secret Cinema to the Calais Jungle. Can you tell us about that? 

Fabien: Along with many others, I felt incredibly angry and frustrated with the government's reaction to the worst refugee crisis since the Second World War. Millions of people across the globe have been displaced and many of them find themselves in refugee camps like those in Calais. From my visits, I found out that along with crises in healthcare and providing shelter, one of the biggest problems in the camps was boredom, contributing to loss of hope. We set-up a screening of a Bollywood film for about 1000 refugess and for a few hours they could take themselves away from the harsh realities of the 'Jungle'.

Eli: How important do you think cultural activism is as a force for change?

Fabien: It's critical that those with cultural audiences or public platforms get involved in debating issues rather than leaving it all to politicians. We can provide another kind of truth, one that encourages people to speak up rather than passively listen. Rather than focus on Westminster intrigue, we want to contribute to wider public conversations - for example we staged Dead Poet's Society shortly after Robin Williams death to raise money for the charity Mind and help break the stigma around mental health, and put on Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator, in support of the freedom of expression charity Article 19. 

Eli: How have you engaged the Secret Cinema community to the March For Europe cause?

Fabien: Secret Cinema helped support March for Europe by mobilising those audience members passionate about Britain's future in Europe. Lots of people from our network came to the 50,000-strong first march on July 2nd and got creatively involved - making banners, singing songs etc - and we hope that they'll return on September 3rd to Parliament Square two days before MPs return to Westminster.

Eli: How have your ideas for the future of Secret Cinema been influenced by the current political climate?

Fabien: Since we began, Secret Cinema has always been inspired by the political mood of the country, and the wider world. We staged Battle of Algiers during the Arab Spring, taking 20,000 people into the dark underworld of the film, very much inspired by political events. We screened 28 Days Later, the Danny Boyle film about the outbreak of a deadly virus, during the recent Junior Doctors strike - in solidarity, we seeded-in the narrative of an understaffed health service into a mock-up St Thomas's Hospital, hosted a special free screening for NHS workers, and publicised the doctor-led Justice for Health campaign throughout the month-long run.

Eli: Do you have plans to make the Secret Cinema experience more accessible to those who are unable to afford it?

Fabien: We are constantly reevaluating different formats and pricing structures for Secret Cinema, though building our sets takes a massive amount of resource and staff time. Matinee performances and strands like Secret Cinema X - which over the past year has staged new releases like 'Victoria' and 'Amy' - offer lower-priced tickets, whilst we also offer significant discounts for public sector workers. I am also really passionate about free screenings - I hope we are able to host more like one held last month for local residents in Leyton during our run for Dirty Dancing.

Eli: Finally, for those people who still like watching films alone in a darkened room – where is your favourite cinema in London?

Fabien: I love the Rio cinema in Dalston - it's up the road from me and truly captures the spirit of indie cinema.

The March For Europe is at Parliament Square on the 3rd of September.

Volunteer or get more information on attending here.