© Marc Bertrand
The 7th art loves Paris, and Paris loves you back. When the weather's nice, the cinema gets out of the darkened rooms and into the fresh air.
Numerous screenings are organised throughout the summer in the four corners of the capital. The perfect way to catch a film under the stars!
Hangar Y, for example, is offering a varied programme of events in its guinguette, to make the most of the summer: the 7th art is in the spotlight with eight open-air screenings for film buffs between June and September.
If you're a fan of short films, check out the Festival Silhouette, which takes place from late August to early September in the Butte du Chapeau-Rouge park in the 19th arrondissement. Organised since 2002, this free event is devoted exclusively to short films. As an added bonus, each screening is preceded by a concert.
At the REcyclerie, from 23 August to 8 September 2024, the Gare aux Docs event on the railway tracks of the Petite Ceinture invites you to discover documentaries on a variety of committed themes. Screenings are free and by reservation only.
The Shoah Memorial, as part of its exhibition ‘Paris 1924-2024: The Olympic Games, mirror of societies’, also invites you to discover several films on the Olympic theme, free of charge and by reservation, on the forecourt. On 12, 13 and 14 September 2024, the Cour d'Honneur at Les Invalides will be hosting a programme of historical films including Invictus, Robin des Bois and Les Trois Mousquetaires - Milady as part of the Les Invalides font leur cinéma festival.
© Cinéma Paradiso Louvre MK2
Other venues in Paris and the surrounding area offer open-air cinema sessions. This is the case of Hôtel Paradiso and its Sunday evening open-air screenings on its rooftop, until September. The Cinéma sur le toit x Sofilm also returns this summer to the bubble bar on the roof of the Machine du Moulin Rouge, in the district of Montmartre. It happens every Wednesday in the summer and it's free (booking required).
© Dolcevita sur Seine
The banks of the Seine host the open-air film festival Dolcevita-sur-Seine, at the Arènes de Lutèce and the Square Capitan, alongside Paris Plages. From 12 July 2024 to 16 July 2024, the festival celebrates the twinning, friendship and artistic links between Paris and Rome. As well as masterpieces of Italian cinema screened in outdoors on the banks of the Seine, the festival programme includes theatrical screenings (at the Écoles Cinéma Club and the Paris - Christine Cinéma Club), a photo-exhibition, theatre and music. In Rome, the great classics of French cinema are screened on the banks of the Tiber.
A number of pretty towns (Nogent-sur-Marne, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés...) in the Val-de-Marne offer open-air cinema in a rural setting that is easily accessible from the capital. Full details on the Val-de-Marne Tourisme & Loisirs website. The Château d'Écouen, which houses the musée national de la Résistance, is offering six free open-air cinema screenings on 23 and 24 August 2024, with an eclectic programme of animated films, action movies, comedies, cinema classics and fantasy films.
