After seven years of restoration, the 111 year old oldest cinema in the Russian capital will reopen its doors in Moscow. The Chudoschestwenny film theater in the legendary artists’ district of Arbat, inaugurated in 1909 by the German-born entrepreneur Albert Broksch, has been redesigned with lots of marble, wood, soft seats and state-of-the-art cinema projectors. Monument protectors in the largest European city had long feared that the super-rich could convert the striking building in the city center into a casino or nightclub.
“We are determined to make this great place a place with international appeal,” says program director Stas Tyrkin. The cinema is one of the oldest in the world. In the four halls – with 21 to 474 seats – only films with artistic standards and no blockbusters should be shown. There is no lockdown in Moscow because of the pandemic. Cinemas are open – with up to 50 percent permitted occupancy.
Start mit „The Father“
The film “The Father” by Florian Zeller with Anthony Hopkins should make the beginning. Tomorrow, 95 years after the premiere, Sergej Eisenstein’s classic “Battleship Potemkin” will be shown there – unlike during the Soviet era without censorship. The Chudoschestwenny is also a festival cinema. Several productions will be shown there at the Moscow International Cinema Festival from April 23 to 29.
Viewers can watch films from 9 a.m. to 3 a.m. every day, including many foreign productions shown in the original language with Russian subtitles. In addition to the cinemas and restaurants, the house also houses a library with publications on cinema, theater, music, architecture and art.
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