 In 1984, the private charitable company "Friends of Hyde Park Picture House" was set up to support the cinema and help preserve it as "an important part of our cinema and cultural heritage as well as ensuring it is maintained as an available public asset to the audiences of Hyde Park, Leeds, Yorkshire and the UK".Members of the Friends receive discounted admission to the cinema and funds from membership go towards supporting the charity's aims.Three years later, in 1987, the Leeds International Film Festival began at the venue.