It ran as the Valhalla at Victoria Street, Richmond from 1976 until 1987, when it moved to the present location of the Westgarth Theatre in Northcote.

They had been running short seasons of films by the likes of the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields & Mae West and Humphrey Bogart in Melbourne for some time.

Shows like these – and the general selections played there – quickly led to the Valhalla becoming firmly associated in the public mind with cult films.

It opened the Academy Valhalla Twin Cinema in the heritage-listed Manchester Unity building on the corner of Swanston and Collins Streets, Melbourne; Valhalla at the Agora at La Trobe University, and late shows at The Astor in St Kilda; the Academy Twin, Paddington, Sydney; and then cinemas in Adelaide, Perth and Brisbane.

The Valhalla closed its doors in 1996 and became the Westgarth Cinema, after the rental costs of their Northcote site became too high to meet.

In the 1980s Barry Peak and Chris Kiely wrote, produced and directed four feature films: Future Schlock, Channel Chaos, The Big Hurt and As Time Goes By.

Some of the managers of various Valhalla Cinemas include Ray Pond, Sue Thompson, Jane Kendrik, Andrew W Morse and Peter Castaldi.

The portable community cinema did not reside in a permanent location, instead appearing in spaces that are not traditionally associated with movie halls.