Film director Lord Julian Fellowes dropped in to Malmesbury Town Hall last Friday for the launch of a mobile cinema which will tour rural communities.

The pioneering scheme means people can see blockbusters on state-of-the-art digital equipment in towns such as Malmesbury, Calne and Corsham rather than having to travel to Bath or Swindon.

Oscar-winning Lord Fellowes mingled with guests, including North Wiltshire MP James Gray, at the launch of White Horse Pictures before a screening of his 2009 film From Time to Time, a ghost story featuring Maggie Smith.

The £400,000 National Lottery-funded scheme has paid for the installation of screens and speakers in 28 venues across the county including Malmesbury, Calne, Corsham, Devizes, Bradford-on-Avon, Colerne and Pewsey.

Mobile screening technology will move around the venues and will bring crisp sound and picture quality, as well as the potential for the screening of 3D movies.

Formerly rural cinemas would have had to wait for DVD releases.

The scheme proved a hit in Malmesbury where 500 tickets for The King’s Speech were sold.

Lord Fellowes, who created the ITV’s Downton Abbey, said: “This is not new but the problem before was the quality of the film and now we have overcome that.

“It means for people who don’t want to travel or for older people it will be much easier for them to access good quality films.”

Mr Gray said: “The cinema is a brilliant cultural experience and it is good to bring it out in to the sticks.”

White Horse Pictures is a joint initiative between South West Screen and Moviola, two locally based organisations committed to cinema in rural communities.

Booking information is available at www.whitehorsepictures.co.uk