Cafes, pubs, lounges becoming hotspots for film screenings

Watching a movie in a theatre doesn’t sound quite thrilling anymore as we see a growing trend of films being screened in rather unusual venues like pubs, clubs or even lounges.
 So what’s the primary reason that attracts the audience to such venues? “They propose a cozy scenery for the screening of this kind (non Bollywood) of movies,” explains Galle Joly, Cultural coordinator of Alliance Francaise de Bombay. “They enable us to have discussion afterward in a friendly atmosphere. Also this is where people like to gather,” she adds.

“Basically theatres require an entire week of screening,” says Pranav Ashar of Enlighten Film Society. “The kind of programming required in theatre screenings is totally different. When we run a world cinema film, we know that the audience is elite, but that’s not enough to sustain the film for a week, there aren’t as many people drawn to world cinema yet,” he adds, asserting that though popular world cinema is screened in theatres too, the not so popular ones stand a bleak chance. Hence “we can cater to our loyal set of audience by screening these movies in lounges on weekdays.”Ashar reveals that next he plans to hold screenings in some even bizarre locations next, such as the parking lot of malls and by the poolsides. These screenings are going to be “free for all” and will hence help draw a larger audience to the films.

Apart from the casual ambience, good food is also another reason which is making this trend a hit. “Restaurants have emerged as good places to showcase a range of experiences. We all provide unconventional, interesting and intimate spaces and for some purposes  and this works well,” says A. D Singh, Director of Olive Bar and Kitchen. “You get much better food and drink than you do in a theatre.”

Besides Olive, Cafe Goa and The Cricket Club of India have served as venues for movie screenings in the past.