After months that all cinemas in Germany have been closed now, some people had the chance to finally enjoy a little bit of cinema atmosphere again this weekend - and take a nice piece of it home with them right away. The Cinéma in Frankfurt's city center used the forced break to clean up the large Lumière auditorium for its hopefully imminent reopening. To do this, however, the previous cinema seats first had to give way. And regular guests and cinema fans were now allowed to dismantle them directly in the cinema and take them home with them. A possibility that met with lively interest: All dates for the dismantling and collection of the chairs were quickly booked up.
Christopher Bausch, managing director of the two Frankfurt arthouse cinemas Cinéma and Harmonie, promises his guests a whole new look in the largest of the three halls of the cinema at Roßmarkt. It will soon no longer look like the one in our picture. About five years ago, the foyer and entrance area of the Cinéma were completely redesigned, followed two years ago by the two smaller halls Cine-Studio and Cine-Petit, where a cosy living room atmosphere has prevailed ever since. Now the Lumière auditorium is the heart of the popular arthouse cinema. The Lumiere is to become even more beautiful, more comfortable, loungier and more elegant. New chairs, small tables in between and an even better sound should guarantee the visitors a very special movie experience after the reopening.
For the moment, this is only available within your own four walls. All the happier, then, were the movie fans who were able to take home one of the theater chairs over the weekend. A real demolition party, like the one once held when the Harmonie was rebuilt - with a screening of the cult film ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW included - was unfortunately not possible this time. Instead, a maximum of two people/households at a time were allowed to dismantle their chairs in the cinema hall with tools they had brought with them. A pair of chairs was available for 50 €, which went to support the cinema. Not only the fact that all cinema chairs found new owners makes the team around Christopher Bausch very happy in these difficult times. Also the numerous nice anecdotes they heard during the weekend make them realize how much the guests love the cinema and link a lot of nice memories with this place.
That bausch is investing in a redesign of the large auditorium in such a difficult situation, with no end in sight either, shows that he believes in the future of the cinema. And the positive feedback from his guests suggests that he is right on the money. People long for communal cultural experiences and for the very special atmosphere in a cinema hall, which no amount of home cinema equipment can replace. And so this conversion also gives hope for better times, which may not be so far away. "We're definitely moving on," the arthouse cinemas' Facebook page says. We're looking forward to it, and can't wait for the first film in the revamped Lumière auditorium!
More info is also available at: https://www.arthouse-kinos.de/
