Prague, Czech Republic: Outdoor Movies at Prague's Open Air Cinemas
Summer in Prague means one thing — letni kino, or open-air cinema. The season starts in early June and runs through mid-September, with films ranging from Apocalypto to Zodiac. In its most basic form, a letni kino is a sheet tied to two trees and a projector in a park. The cinemas in Prague are a more sophisticated affair.
The open-air cinema on Strelecky Ostrov, an island in the Vltava river near the National Theatre, has been running for 11 years. Alongside the big screen is a bar and grill — because beer is an integral part of Czech outdoor cinema. The barman on his job:
“It’s very nice but sometimes a little bit tiring, because I am here 12 hours a day — if the weather is too good, lots of people come and I have more than enough work. But it is really nice. The people are nice, the films are good.”
Does he get to see the films?
“No no no. From here, I can’t see a thing! It’s a pity, but what can you do? I can hear some things, but I can’t see anything.”
In the middle of Strelecky Ostrov stands a bright yellow caravan housing two gigantic old projectors. Inside is Honza Parizek, the cinema’s technician, deftly handling yards of 35mm film:
“The projector has to be big and strong because the lamp inside is very strong — it needs to be ventilated. There are motors which pass the film in front of the lamp. The machine has to be very heavy, because there can’t be any vibrations. It is really simple — a monkey could do it.”
Organizer Ondrej Kubista explains what makes Strelecky Ostrov special:
“We are here in the centre of Prague, between Mala Strana and Stare Mesto. We are exceptional in this way. What is also special about us is our programme — we try to put together something that will suit both Prague locals and visiting tourists. The majority of things we show are Czech films with English subtitles.”
Honza runs the programme: Mondays are “Projekt 100” cult movies; Tuesdays are documentaries or music films; Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays are quality commercial releases; Sundays present a profile collection of Jan Svankmajer’s films — the best Czech surrealist director. His personal favourite of the season: The Fountain by Darren Aronofsky. “A metaphysical, audio-visual symphony.”
Further up the river in Karlin, a second open-air cinema is organised by the town council and Czech Radio in the courtyard of one of Czech Radio’s oldest buildings on Hybesova Street. Now in its fourth year, it is the most-visited open-air cinema in the Czech Republic — over 14,000 visitors the previous year. Organizer Karel Polacek on his film-selection philosophy:
“From my youth, when the Czech Republic was a communist country and we didn’t have so many films, I have inherited the idea that outdoor cinemas are the place for lighter, entertaining films — adventure, comedy, humour and, for those who are prepared to watch it, sex.”
On why the Karlin cinema draws such crowds:
“Money, money, money. Entrance is only 25 crowns, and that is why they come. The audience really depends upon the film. If you show Spiderman, or 300, then you get a very young crowd; if you show Notes on a Scandal or the Czech film Empties, then you generally get people in their thirties.”
Simona Cadikova, who runs Strelecky Ostrov and comes from a family of mobile cinema owners (“which is sometimes like belonging to a circus”), on the pressures from multiplexes:
“Nowadays, people love big American movies playing in big multiplex cinemas in shopping malls. And people forget that these small cinemas are a much nicer experience — at least for me. People are going to the multiplexes and little village cinemas are just dying.”
And what, typically, accompanies Czech outdoor cinema?
“It’s beer, lemonade, sausage, chips. But, definitely, in an open-air cinema, it’s beer! You know, people love coming to a movie out of doors, having a beer, looking up at the stars, at the trees. It’s wonderful!”
Source: “Nights of a thousand stars: Prague’s open-air cinemas” by Rosie Johnston, Radio Praha.