Part one of our guide to lesser known screening rooms to add to your cinematic pilgrimage.
Wherever you go in this world, a space to enjoy a good film awaits you. Not all are immediately obvious. Some are located in hotels, small stores, offices and warehouses; secluded sanctuaries from which you can experience the magic of cinema away from the crowded auditoriums.
A screening room is an extension of a passionate community, which is also an extension of the country or city you are in. It is a chance to understand film in a foreign place; what excites or moves people. Here are our seven favourite screen rooms to add to your travel itinerary.
Paris Cinema Club, Paris
4 Rue Christine, 75006 Paris, France
It’s a little known fact that Isabelle Huppert is behind Paris Cinéma Club, a hip selection of cinemas and concept shops in the French capital. Both Christine and Écoles appeal to serious moviegoers and have built a friendly community who arrive to watch lowkey screenings of vintage French cinema, undiscovered gems, and some notable Gallic classics. You’re more likely to find restorations of Bresson, Malle, or other avant-gardists here than pulpy or cult films. But since you’re in Paris, what else would you expect? Also, be sure to pay a visit to their concept store on Rue Mazarin, where you can shop merchandise around that season’s films and a selection of cool t-shirts.
Hotel Barriere Fouquet’s, New York City
456 Greenwich St, New York, NY 10013, United States
Located deep in Tribeca, New York City, Hotel Barriere Fouquet’s sells itself as offering a French atmosphere in the Big Apple. The transatlantic collision means that culture, and especially cinema, are a big part of Fouquet’s itinerary. If you’re looking for a cosy screening room to escape the bustle of Manhattan, they have a small, but intimate, spot with a programme that will satisfy the roving cinephile in you. The spectacular Cannes Cinema is the hotel’s luxurious private screening room, and can be used for premieres, special screenings, corporate launches, and other events. The room sparkles with a gold-leaf ceiling, upholstered walls, and a green Art Deco–patterned carpet. Alongside plush seating arranged to optimise sight lines and maximum comfort, the screening room is the perfect place for those looking for glamorous celebrity hot-spots (Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively, and Jennifer Lawrence live just across the street), to continue their love of film and Parisian charm in their very own private theatre in New York.
SCRT, London
63 Redchurch St, London E2 7DJ
Adam Kirk’s uber-cool film centric clothing brand SCRT have a large space in East London’s Redchurch Street. During the day, you can shop t-shirts, jackets, and accessories that pay tribute to Wong Kar wai or Ghost in the Shell, but on certain evenings, they host a small, but very in-the-know community of London cinephiles who gather to watch movies and share a drink together. Definitely an address all film fans should know before visiting the London capital.
Close-Up Cinema, London
97 Sclater St, London E1 6HR
A homely, hidden-away gem a stone throw away from Shoreditch High Street, the Close-Up Cinema has quietly become one of the most valuable champions of the moving image we have in London right now. Though you can find plenty of other cinemas around the city to satisfy your arthouse film needs, what makes Close-Up stand out from the crowd is its massive archive of physical media, akin to the Criterion Closet, that they offer to members in exchange for just £10 per month. Their library consists of over 25,000 titles ranging from French New Wave to Italian Neorealism to New South Korean cinema. If you’re looking to expand your film palette, there’s no better place than here.
The Projector, Singapore
6001 Beach Rd, #05-00 Golden Mile Tower, Singapore 199589
On any given day you can look at the showtimes for Singapore’s The Projector cinema and see a pretty perfect fusion of the indie, the mainstream and historical cinema. Described as Singapore’s “Oasis for film lovers”, the cinema was established in 2015 and is notable for occupying the former site of the historic Golden Theatre. Singapore is already home to a buzzing film community, so if you find yourself wandering around the Garden City in search of cinephilia, The Projector is a great place to start.
The Raj Mandir, Jaipur
C-16, Bhagwan Das Rd, Panch Batti, C Scheme, Ashok Nagar, Jaipur, Rajasthan 302001, India
The Raj Mandir isn’t well known to most of the world, but for decades it’s remained an iconic destination for Bollywood film lovers. Situated in India’s Golden City, Jaipur, the Raj Mandir only has one screening room—a magnificently designed space that can hold up to 1300 people. Nicknamed “The Pride of Asia”, this is the only cinema on the list where you’ll spend more time on your feet than in your seat, with audience members jumping up to dance, sing and cheer during the musical sequences that have become a staple of Bollywood cinema.
Coolidge Corner Theatre, Massachusetts
290 Harvard St, Brookline, MA 02446, United States
An independent, non-for-profit movie theatre at the heart of Massachusetts’ filmgoing community, the Coolidge Corner Theatre was originally established as a Universalist church in 1906 before being refurbished as a community cinema in 1933. The cinema has faced hardships over the years, largely revolving around funding, but has always found solidarity in the loyal community of Massachusetts film fans that time and time again have rallied around the theatre (sometimes literally) in support—a testament to its fierce dedication to the moving image.
