Unique cinema experiences to try in 2021
Remember actually going out to watch movies? It seems so long ago.
While thousands of titles are easily available from digital streaming networks that you can comfortably watch from the safety of your couch or on your smartphone, there’s really something about the whole movie-going experience that we miss.
Like actually getting dressed and going outside your house, watching the action unfold on a large screen with surround sound, munching on popcorn in the darkness, and the shared laughter and reactions from strangers watching in the same theater.
As of January 2021, most conventional and mall-based movie theaters still remain closed in areas under general community quarantine or GCQ, but there are still a few options for those who want to take a break from their television sets and enjoy movie magic outside their homes.
Here are just three unique cinema experiences available in Metro Manila you may want to try this year.
Drive-in cinema
There was a lot of buzz last September when SM Cinema launched their "Movies by the Bay" experience at the SM Mall of Asia Concert grounds. After introducing the experience first at SM City Pampanga in San Fernando, with the screening of Peninsula, the sequel to the Korean hit, Train to Busan, Metro Manila residents finally got a a more accessible drive-in cinema.
How about scheduling date night to watch a movie under the stars from the comfort of your own car? Movie screenings are usually held from Wednesdays to Sundays weekly while tickets cost P400 pesos, which comes with popcorn, water, and beef franks to complete the whole cinematic experience.
Right before Christmas, the first digital edition of the “Japanese Film Festival Plus: Online Festival” kicked-off with an exclusive screening at the SM Mall of Asia Drive-in Cinema with the film Project Dreams: How to Build Mazinger Z’s Hangar by Hanabusa Tsutomu.
Last December, the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CPP) also partnered with SM to showcase back-to-back screenings of The Nutcracker Ballet Act 2 and Tuloy Ang Pasko at the drive-in theater.
No official movie schedule has been lined up yet for January 2021, but you can check out https://smtickets.com/ for upcoming events and screenings.
Float-In Cinema
Launched last December just in time for the holiday season, the McKinley Hill Float-In Cinema allows moviegoers to recapture the joy and wonder of watching movies on the big screen in a relatively safe and romantic setting—aboard the mall’s iconic Venetian gondolas.
Movies at the float-in cinema are projected on a 12m x 7m giant screen mounted on the mall’s Ponte Rialto bridge and are subject to change every week.
While other mall-goers may be able to see the screen, the movie’s audio is broadcast via a specific radio frequency available only to those aboard the gondolas. Guests can connect their personal earphones to their gondola to be able to hear the movie’s audio.
According to theater guidelines, only two persons are allowed to ride the gondola at the same time and guests are required to wear masks except when consuming food and beverages. Only a maximum of 10 guests are allowed per screening, which is scheduled at 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. every day, to comply with social distancing requirements.
The McKinley Hill Float-In Cinema is currently open to moviegoers every day with the admission price of P500 per head or P1,000 per gondola inclusive of snacks, bottled water and personal kits. Guests can book and buy their tickets via megaworldcinemas.com.
Boutique Cinema: Sine Pop
Before the pandemic hit, a number of microcinemas around the metro, such as Cinema ‘76, Cinema Centenario and Black Maria, were gaining popularity and providing an alternative venue especially for indie films. While some have sadly closed, new ones have opened.
Sine Pop, a boutique cinema located within a restored 1948 house in Cubao with a rare green bamboo garden, is the newest to offer the pop-up cinema experience.
The intimate venue equipped with DCP projector, 7.1 surround sound system, and 7-meter screen, aims to provide an exclusive space for new Filipino film fans to enjoy conversations and the cinematic experience.
Every Saturday, Sine Pop holds free screenings of Lav Diaz's Norte, Hangganan ng Kasaysayan, held for a maximum of 6 persons out of 48 seats. Screenings begin at 1 p.m., capped by post-screening drinks served in the bamboo garden.
The 4-hour epic Norte, which champions slow cinema, premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival, is among Top 10 films of 2013 by Sight & Sound Magazine and Pulitzer Prize-winning critic Wesley Morris’s Top Film of 2014.
According to the management of Sine Pop, so far their guests have been cinephiles, students, artists, or from government and call centers, and Norte has been their first cinema experience since the lockdown.
They plan to continue “Norte Saturdays” throughout 2021, and beyond that they plan to champion only a few titles, and help them find their audience.
“We see Sine Pop as a private space for film-related activities—auditions, script readings, pre-production—and non-film events. On weekends, Sine Pop opens it doors via screenings of selected titles,” said Sine Pop's management.
For inquiries and reservations, contact their Facebook page: Sine Pop.
Around the world, open-air and pop-up cinemas are seeing a revival as the entertainment industry grapples to find ways to deal with the constraints of the pandemic. With some major Hollywood movies scheduled to be released this year, hopefully we can see more safe and unique cinema concepts and venues in the near future.
(Banner photo by SM Cinema)