The silver screen – coming to a park near you.
Every summer, Vienna’s cinephiles are spoilt for choice with a large selection of open-air cinemas screening classics under the balmy night sky. But while the venerable Kino Unter Sternen (sadly cancelled this year) and Kino Wie Noch Nie capitalize on their breathtaking backdrops (Karlsplatz and Augartenspitz, respectively), Volxkino goes a more egalitarian route: For the last 28 years they have brought quality cinema to the humid masses with large inflatable screens set up in the city’s parks and squares.
This year, Volxkino will kick off with Woody Allen’s mockumentary Zelig at Karmelitermarkt before moving across 15 districts and 38 locations over the course of the season. Showing a whopping 55 features, documentaries and short films, the selection ranges from classics like Billy Wilder’s Sunset Boulevard or Stanley Kubrick’s Paths of Glory, to recent art house films and niche productions like last year’s morbid comedy Swiss Army Man starring Paul Dano and Daniel Radcliffe, 2015’s Franco-Turkish drama Mustang, the South Korean zombie apocalypse extravaganza Train to Busan and British director Ken Loach’s latest film, I, Daniel Blake.
Volxkino is free entry – just be sure to check the program online as not all films are shown in English: DF (Deutsche Fassung) marks German-language films, OmeU (Original mit Englischen Untertiteln) stands for subtitled in English and OF (Originalfassung) means original language version. Seating is first come, first served; mosquito repellant, cool beverages and blankets (or deck chairs) are essential.
Jun 7-Sep 17, various locations. volxkino.at
