JESSICA Jones, an American Masters student at the University of York, is looking to source a crowd of viewers for York's first film screening organised in association with Ourscreen at City Screen, York.

Ourscreen is a new digital and social platform that aims to empower film fans and local communities to create and attend their own screenings at their local cinemas. The project is becoming available across 13 cities including London, Norwich, Bath, Exeter and now York. Jessica's event will become a reality in York on July 6 at 8pm, but only if enough people book tickets to attend. That number is not specified, but the more, the better.

Dave Taylor, City Screen's marketing manager, predicts popularity for the concept dubbed as a new kind of "people-powered" cinema. Once you have chosen a film and allotted a date on Sunday evenings or Monday/Tuesday afternoons, an event is created to be shared with family, friends or anybody who wants to come. A wide range of films is already available on the platform, including 2013's Starred Up and foreign-language films, as well as classics such as Scarface.

Jessica's choice is Joss Whedon's ship-bound 2005 sci-fi thriller Serenity. "I chose it because of its grassroots and fan-based background," she says. "It was a film that wouldn't have happened without the fans campaigning for the terminated Joss Whedon show Firefly to find a new home and subsequently the film created even more fans in the process.

"I know a lot of Browncoats – the affectionate term for fans of Firefly – that had never been able to see Serenity in cinemas when it was originally released, so Ourscreen seemed like a great opportunity to make that happen. I also have only lived in York since September, so the idea of being able to meet other Firefly fans in such a unique setting sounded marvellous.”

Events organised so far through Ourscreen in other parts of Britain have included fan screenings of The Zero Theorem, a Pulp Fiction birthday party and the world's first people-powered premiere for football documentary Next Goal Wins.

The scheme offers a quick and easy way to make the cinema yours for a night, whether you are a film fan, a school group, a local business or anyone who wants to enjoy a great film on the big screen, and now there are plans to expand across the country with more films being added on a regular basis.

To support Jessica's screening at City Screen, visit ourscreen.com/screening/36867

Madeleine Howell