OPEN-AIR CINEMAS AROUND THE WORLD
The Grounds, Hong Kong
Backdropped by Hong Kong’s iconic skyline, The Grounds is designed specifically for the socially-distanced ‘new normal’. The venue has 100 socially distanced private pods that seat up to four people and features a giant LED screen amped up by a state-of-the-art sound system. Here, people enjoy film screenings, live music, and even yoga.
Venice’s second biggest public square, Campo San Polo has seen everything from bullfights to masked balls to the odd assassination during its colorful history. Nowadays, the drama comes via its open-air cinema, a 200-seat affair that was launched by a local government eager to bring extra culture to the area. Yes, it’s an ideal spot to watch Moonraker but you’re more likely to catch an animation, comedy or even an occasional doc here.
Cine Manto, Mykonos
Running from June of the end of September, this tree-shaded open-air space is part-cinema, part-botanic gardens. Aside from a big screen, it boasts a bunch of friendly cats, a pond full of koi carp, goldfish, waterlilies, and a 200-year-old cactus. Seriously, what more could you ask for? It’s like when we used to see movies in 3D, except the third dimension here is furry and will paw you halfway through the film. There are 180 seats in its arbor and a restaurant terrace to camp out on for a mid-screening souvlaki.
A former Prussian military hospital and a squatters’ paradise in the ’70s, Bethanien is now an arts space in Berlin’s ultra-hip Kreuzberg. It’s also the backdrop for a summer cinema that draws filmgoers from across the city for arthouse flicks on the grass. Outdoor cinema – ‘freiluftkino’ – has been big in Berlin since the ’80s (though the earliest dates back to 1913) and the city now boasts more than a dozen open-air screens, from the giant Freiluftkino Friedrichshain or Freiluftkino Rehberge to tiny backyard affairs. This one, which uniquely shows all films in their original language with subtitles, is definitely the grandest.