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- poster designed by Luke Gould
Open Cinema offers a new approach to film viewing engaging its audience in a playful experience and reflection made possible by a radical design proposed by the architecture of Colin Fournier.
The existence of the Cineclub established in 1958 in Guimaraes, Portugal created a unique opportunity to explore relationships between cinema, politics and social space. The club’s activities originate from the pre-internet era when film held a different meaning. Frequent screenings provided its members with a space of longing as well as discussion. Creation of the club as a place for both dissemination of global cinema and open participation, made the screenings into a social event driven as much by the love of film, as by resistance to the political regime. The record of those engagements can be traced through the choice of films, which passed through the club’s 54-year history.
The Open Cinema project re-animates that history by creating a temporary cinema building erected in a public square of Largo Condessa do Juncal. The cinema has been designed by architect Colin Fournier to promote openness and generosity emphasising free access for all of the citizens and visitors. A one-hour programme consisting of 23 film trailers shown daily is a result of a collaboration with the workers of the local textile and shoe (Lamerinho and Camport) factories. They have made the selection of their favorite titles by watching the film trailers during lunch breaks. They are the co-authors of what for two months will become a celebration of enthusiasm for film and a need to share that enthusiasm with others.
Exploring the new forms of engagement with the public, the Open Cinema project is testing the boundaries of the global and the local, material and immaterial. The cinematic experience and the cinema building reflect upon those existing and imagined economies of desire.
More photos here