Cinema truck takes films on the road to rural communes
Having a local cinema is not something that many small communes can afford or support but in Centre-Val de Loire a touring cinema is bringing the latest titles to a circuit of 46 rural areas.
Called Cinémobile, the cinema is folded out from an artic trailer that gives a salle of 80 to 100 comfortable seats in an air-conditioned room with Dolby sound.
It can all be set up in about an hour and the lorry can be taken on all but the smallest of roads to reach isolated communes and create a new social activity. Once set up, the cinema theatre can be used 18 hours a day, staffing allowing.
Last year it saw 62,000 viewers for 2,047 screenings of 123 films, including 14,500 children for 37 films shown as part of class lessons.
From March 1 Cinémobile travels across Cher, Eure-et-Loir, Indre, Loir-et-Cher and Loiret with film fans paying €6.20 or €4.50 to see films such as Pentagon Papers and Belle et Sébastien 3.
The Cinémobile is run by Ciclic (ciclic.fr), a regional agency in Centre-Val de Loire that promotes culture and access to culture with Cinémobile and online screenings.
It is the only mobile cinema of its kind but groups such as Cinéma Solaire across France, Ciné Seine in Seine-Maritime and Ciné Garrigues in Gard and Hérault also take films to rural communes. It is thought that about 100 groups are setting up their cinéma itinérant in salles des fêtes or, in summer, holding open-air screenings.
