As lockdown has forced many cinemas to close their doors due to social distancing measures, many cinephiles have turned to drive-ins to watch their favorite flicks. And while drive-ins may make an exciting cinema experience, a floating movie theater in Paris takes outdoor movie-going to another level, swapping out cars with boats.
Last week, the waters of the iconic Seine river in the French capital saw the arrival of a floating movie theatre for people to enjoy themselves in socially distant boats.
The “Le Cinéma sur l’Eau”, or “cinema on the water”, was held on July 18 to celebrate the return of Paris Plages, an annual event organized by the French capital, that creates temporary beaches along the Seine and the Bassin de la Villette during the summer.
The floating cinema welcomed 150 locals who kicked back in one of 38 small electric boats to watch “Le Grand Bain”, a French comedy about a group of men who start a synchronized swimming team and “A Corona Story”, a short film about COVID-19.
Each boat sat four to six people, making sure that the groups consisted of family or friends to ensure social distancing measures were met. Also, to offer the opportunity for as many people to benefit as possible from this boat-cinema experience, another 150 people were able to watch from deckchairs on dry land.
The high demand event wasn’t easy to snatch tickets for. To get the chance to attend such an exceptional movie night, Parisians could enter a raffle for free tickets from July 7 until July 16. If we’re lucky, maybe we will see more screenings on the iconic river in the near future.
