TWO hundred art house cinemas across the United States screened an adaption of “1984” Tuesday in protest against Donald Trump’s administration.

    The United State of Cinema website says George Orwell’s dystopian fiction has “never been timelier.”

    Sales of the novel went up 9,500 percent after Trump’s inauguration.

    Organizers say the national screening day is a stand against the “simple truth that there are no such things as ‘alternative facts.’”

    It says: “By doing what they do best — showing a movie — the goal is that cinemas can initiate a much-needed community conversation at a time when the existence of facts, and basic human rights are under attack.”

    The term “alternative facts” was coined by Trump aide Kellyanne Conway to explain discrepancies between accounts of crowd sizes at the presidential inauguration.

    A key part of Orwell’s book is the way that the government warps reality for its citizens.

    The novel begins with the sentence: “It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking 13.”

    The organizers’ website insists: “Less than one month into the new presidential administration, theater owners collectively believe the clock is already striking 13.”

    The date was chosen as April 4 because that is when the novel’s protagonist Winston Smith begins his rebellious diary.

    Organizers say the screenings took place in 184 U.S. cities across 44 states, and a section of proceeds from events will be donated to local charities and community organizations.

    The movie adaption directed by Michael Radford and starring John Hurt, Richard Burton and Suzanna Hamilton was screened in 1984.

    (SD-Agencies)