The course

Visits to cinemas

Coca Cola Plaza, Tallinn

The participants will visit the cinema on 30 June

An ancient Hanseatic town, Tallinn boasts a fine medieval city centre: this is what the tourist guides tell you. In fact, the capital of Estonia offers far more than the vestiges of a glorious past. Visitors who wish to have the experience of being in an authentic laboratory of contemporary architecture can start from the Rotermann: a harbour-side neighbourhood with factories and warehouses dating from the time of the Tsars, now the site of offices and shops which have taken up residence in the renovated versions of these ancient brick buildings. Prominent amongst them is the combination of an unadorned, two-storey parallelepiped with three truncated pyramids made of glass and steel on the roof: not the most commonly used way of gaining precious cubic metres and international fame at the same time. It is precisely here that a cinema is to be found which is the first in the world to bear the name of the cinemagoer’s drink par excellence: the Coca Cola Plaza. Now approaching its tenth anniversary – it was inaugurated on 10 March 2001 – this city multiplex is equipped with eleven screens, seats a total of 1,967 spectators, and is housed in a modern, multi-storey building that also acts as a covered walkway between two important streets in the centre of Tallinn – not a negligible feature at a latitude where temperatures remain below zero for much of the year. Even those who do not have the time or the inclination to watch a film can stop en passant at one of the cinema’s bars – specialized in fruit smoothies – taste the pizza of the day at Basilik’s, the Italian-style restaurant, or stock up on sweets at the candy shop, which offers quickly served and authentic Illy coffee. On the ground floor those who, instead, come here to watch a film will find not only the inevitable box-office but also fully-fledged wardrobe facilities which make it possible to get rid of overcoats and bags (and perhaps snow galoshes, too). Ample video-screens provide information on programming and special initiatives, should the spectator not be well-informed enough already, thanks to the app. that Forum Cinemas – the exhibitor and distributor which manages the Coca Cola Plaza – makes available to potential clients (those interested in viewing it will find the link below), whilst a series of escalators transport spectators to the theatres laid out on several different floors. Of these, five screens are equipped for digital projection and 3D, using XpanD technology, and also offer the musts of alternative content, such as the football World Cup or the Metropolitan’s opera season. The flower in the buttonhole of the Coca Cola Plaza - Forum Cinemas’ most important complex, in other words the Estonian equivalent of Finnkino – is the VIP suite, a theatre with 40 luxury armchair seats destined for clients who wish to enjoy special comfort and special treatment. The suite – bearing the “A. LeCoq” brand name, that of Estonia’s most famous beer, is linked to the Lounge of the same name, a hospitable and exclusive salon with an admirably stocked bar and a smoking area. If a film costs 5 euro on the “lower floors”, or 6.50 in 3D, up here prices can reach 20 euro for the New York opera. From the lounge – we are on the fifth floor here – a sweeping glass window offers spectacular views of Tallinn’s city centre. Whoever prefers a more romantic panorama to that of daring twentyfirst century architecture, need only look straight ahead: the medieval towers and gothic spires are right there, almost near enough to touch.

(Per leggere il testo in italiano cliccare qui)

 
Kino Tapiola, Espoo

Kino Tapiola is a small, privately owned commercial cinema that has, since 2010, been run by the Espoo Ciné Film Festival, a non-profit organisation, founded in 1989. Over the years Espoo Ciné has become the most important Finnish arena focusing on screening the latest, high quality European films. Kino Tapiola is a historically important venue, designed by the visionary Aarne Ervi in 1955 and as such protected as part of Finnish architectural heritage. Kino Tapiola has been in regular use as a cinema for decades and always one of the screening venues for Espoo Ciné, except in 2008-2009 when the cinema had to be closed due to the collapse of part of the ceiling and the extensive renovation that then followed. The Cultural Board of the City of Espoo played a key role in the salvation of Kino Tapiola for cinema use as they decided that Espoo Ciné should take over the running of the cinema, encouraging the owners to renovate the building to its original glory of 1955. Funding from the Finnish Film Foundation meant that Kino Tapiola opened on 13.08.2010 equipped with the latest technology for both cinema and conference purposes. The projection booth houses both the Barco DP2K-23B digital projector with 3D facilities as well as two 35mm film projectors; the cinema is also fitted with a satellite disc for screening alternative contents. Since being run by Espoo Ciné, Kino Tapiola has been attracting regular local audiences, screening selected premières, focusing on European films of quality in the tradition of Espoo Ciné, including Finnish premières. On average, Kino Tapiola is open four times a week, screening six different films per week, and it has also become a popular venue for hosting private parties and business conferences. Thanks to our small stage, Kino Tapiola has also been used for theatre and musical performances and also as a platform for the festival of new media art. Kino Tapiola runs special monthly daytime screenings for seniors and families with small children and will be starting a regular matinee of selected films for local schoolchildren in the autumn. In August, the 22^nd Espoo Ciné International Film Festival will bring thousands of viewers to Kino Tapiola again, guaranteeing its audiences the best, as well as the latest, trends and phenomena in the field of European cinema.

Hannele Pellinen, Theatre Manager
 

KesäKino Engel, Helsinki

The participants will visit the cinema on 2 July.

The KesäKino Engel in Helsinki is the only permanent outdoor cinema in Finland, owned by Cinema Mondo Ltd, the leading independent distributor in the country, founded in 1990 (www.cinemamondo.fi).

Cinema Mondo runs as well the two-screen Kino Engel, located in the same block, nearby the historical Senat Square, and modeled after small Rive Gauche indie theatres in Paris.
The mini-complex including Kino Engel & KesäKino Engel is the last independent cinema house in Helsinki.
The whole KesäKino Engel building has been under renovation for one and a half year. Restaurants and other activities will now re-open, while the outdoor cinema will re-open just before the DigiTraining Plus course.
Participants will therefore have the chance to see the brand new look of the complex!
The outdoor cinema is equipped with 35mm projection and digital surround sound. It runs late shows from June thru September.
”It is probably the most loved cinema in Helsinki, at least if we judge by the amount of inquiries we are getting about the comeback now, after being closed for renovation last season”, says Mika Siltala from Cinema Mondo.

The objective for 2012 is the full digitisation of the Kino Engel + KesäKino Engel complex according to plans that have been submitted to require support from the Finnish Film Foundation and the City of Helsinki, the landlord of the premises.

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