You can request a song to be played on the radio, or request the best table in a restaurant - but how about requesting your favourite film to be shown at the cinema?

Well that is something you can now do in Blackpool where an innovative new app called Screenwave is leading the world.

The multi-screen Backlot cinema | Blackpool Council

The resort's Backlot Cinema - built with council backing - is pioneering what its owner John Sullivan believes will become the 'new way of going to the cinema'. I was among those invited to a screening of Goodfellas - one of the most acclaimed gangster movies ever.

But it came out in 1990 and if you missed it then (although it was re-released in 2017), it is likely you have never seen it on the big screen. And while we can maybe boast high definition TVs in our living rooms these days, there is still something really special about seeing a film at the cinema.

Screenwave has been developed to bring communities of like-minded film goers together. The creator of a screening picks a film they want to see at the cinema, then other users of the app swipe to say if they would also attend.

If enough do so, the film will be scheduled in and tickets start to be sold.At the Backlot, where there are nine screens of different sizes, a screen will be allocated depending on demand.

Our viewing of Goodfellas - a fast paced and compelling tale of life as a Mafia mobster in Brooklyn - had to be moved to a bigger auditorium to accommodate everyone who wanted to see it. The Backlot's Imax screen could also be used by Screenwave which John described as a new 'movement' in cinema.

Speaking ahead of the showing of Goodfellas he said it could be 'tough' to get older films into cinema "and that's why we need a wave of people wanting to bring it in."

He added: "It is a first for Blackpool, This is not being done anywhere else in the world. You will pick your day, time, film and location. This is just the start."

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Film fans are already creating film requests with dates going in for as far ahead as August. So get thinking - while it's great to see the latest blockbusters when they are first released, there are loads of brilliant movies in the archive which - just like Goodfellas - can still pack a punch on the big screen.

To see how it works go to https://screenwave.co.uk/

I joined other film fans for a showing of Goodfellas at Blackpool's Backlot Cinema thanks to amazing new app

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