ONE of the things that makes cinema different from theatre is that it's a one-way process.

You can clap, cheer or boo when you go to the theatre to share your feelings with those who were responsible for the show. But at the cinema the only people you can make aware of what you thought of the film are your fellow audience members.

Well not so at Harbour Lights Picture House this week.

On Monday, as well as holding a special advance screening of new movie Nicholas Nickleby, the cinema will also be playing host to the film's director Douglas McGrath.

Not only will you be able to let him know your thoughts about the film but you will also be able to ask him questions about the movie, for which he also wrote the screenplay, as well as his other work, which includes directing and writing the screenplay for the Gwyneth Paltrow movie Emma and co-writing the Woody Allen movie Bullets over Broadway.

Nicholas Nickleby, which goes on general release on Friday, stars Charlie Hunnam, who made a name for himself in Queer as Folk, alongside such pillars of the British film industry as Jim Broadbent, Tom Courtenay, Juliet Stevenson and young star Jamie Bell.

Based on the Charles Dickens novel of the same name, the film tells the story of a young man who struggles to save his family and friends from the abusive exploitation of his cold-hearted uncle.

23 June, Harbour Lights Picture House, Southampton. Performance: 6.30pm. Box office: 023 8033 5533.