LivingAmsterdam.info Blog » Cinema

Mezrab, beyond the music and the cinema

Michele — Sun, 30 May 2010 08:56:27 +0000

Mezrab is growing, Mezrab is alive, is playing music, is telling stories, is explaining the reality through cinema, poetry, colours… life!

One week ago I had the pleasure to spend half an hour with the Iranian-born Sahand. His idea is something inherent to the basic nature of mankind: sharing experiences and learning from each other.

Almost 8 years ago he tested his idea in his parents’ house and it worked. Two years later he started Cafè Mezrab (watch this video) and now everything is a gallery at Domselaerstraat 120 (Amsterdam):

“Amsterdam is a multicultural place but often people withdraw with people from their own culture. We create a space for talent from various disciplines and countries to meet and share.”

Activities organized at Mezrab (click here for agenda):

- Every Monday: documentary film, 20:30
- Every Wednesday: fiction film, 20:30
- Every 1st Friday of the month: Dutch storytelling, 20:00
- Every 3rd Friday of the month: English storytelling, 20:00… drop by and tell a story!

Entrance is free, but donations very welcome.
All films are spoken or subtitled in English.
Tea, Iranian soups and more!

So people, again: if you want to enjoy something really authentic and free in Amsterdam, consider to pay a visit to Mezrab!

Doei

This blog is run by LivingAmsterdam.com, an initiative of Robin Travels to promote the Socially Responsible Tourism.

Cinemanita and other “underground cinemas”.

Michele — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 18:53:23 +0000

Every Monday night the cinema expert Jeffrey proposes a movie from the database of his mind at the pub ‘De Nieuwe Anita’ on Frederik Hendrikstraat 111 (Oud-West). Bar open from 19.30 hours, entree € 2,50.

It is a perfect place to relax with a beer or a tea while watching an interesting movie.
Besides cinema, there is live music about three nights a week.

Where is Jeffrey during the rest of the week? He is also active with his “underground cinema at OT301 (Sunday night, 20,30, 4€ entrance) and at CAVIA (Thursday, 20.30, entree 4€… really fair!).

A nice quote from Jeffrey: “No rush: I like a cinema from underground, something able to awaken heart and brain.”

This blog is run by LivingAmsterdam.com, an initiative of Robin Travels to promote the Socially Responsible Tourism.

Arthouse Cinema “The Movies”

herbert — Mon, 11 May 2009 12:27:15 +0000

The Movies is the oldest movie theater in use in the Netherlands and one of the oldest in the world.The first film presentation was given, in fact, in October 11th 1912 when the cinema was called the “Tavenu”, one screen with more then 200 seats. It was closed just two years later and was opened again after a year with the name of “Cinema Hollandia”. Since then it slowly decayed for several reason until the 50’s when it was restored as a ’second run’ theater, since it close again at the end of the 60’s. In the 70’s Pieter Goedings, a true art film-loving projectionist at De Uitkijk, bought the Hollandia and renovated it with the art deco interiors we can still enjoy today.

Located at the end of Harlemmerdijk, about 20 minutes walk from the Dam Square, with four auditorium and almost 400 seats, The Movies is mainly an Arthouse Cinema, or an “author cinema” with a palimpsest of selected no commercial movies. By the way there is a diverse mix of titles accessible for the audience and special festival programs.

Inside the place there is also a cafè/restaurant, “the Movies Wild Kitchen”, where is possible to consume a nice dinner or just chill out at the bar before or after the movie, having a nice relaxing chat with your friends.

Good belgium beers, french and italians wine, nice and friendly staff and the art deco interiors make the place cozy and pleasant.

Prices are not so cheap but regular for Amsterdam’s cinemas and cafe. If you think to stay a bit longer in the city you can buy the strippenkart movies, ten entrance for 65 euro, a not personal card you can share with your friends (for a maximum of four tickets for show) and the filmdiner (dinner + movie) from 27 euro for person.

For reservations call: 6386016 or visit the page on the web.

Doei

This blog is run by LivingAmsterdam.com, an initiative of Robin Travels to promote the Socially Responsible Tourism.

Year of the Devil

herbert — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 14:45:24 +0000

Shown at Overtoom 301’s cinema “Rok ďábla” (Year of the Devil, Czech Republic, 2002, 88 min.) is a comedic music documentary direct by Petr Zelenka, starring real-life Czech folk-rocker Jarek Nohavica as a fictionalized version of himself. The following musicians act as themselves in the movie: musicians and poets, Jaromir Nohavica and Karel Plihal, Czech folk music band Čechomor, and British musician and composer Jaz Coleman.
The movie won six categories at the 2002 Czech Lion awards.

The plan of the movie

Dutch documentary film maker, Jan Holman, goes to the Czech Republic to make a film about curing alcoholism. In an alcoholics anonymous clinic he meets a mysterious, silent man named Jarek Nohavica who becomes his friend. When Karel Plihal, writer and player of Nohavica’s arrangements, starts to suffer a weird psychological-disease and becomes mute, Jarek decides to go on tour with a funeral band called Čechomor (Czech-Moravian Musical Society) in order to cure his friend and to relieve alcoholic people’s suffering. Jan Holman follows the band with his camera and many inexplicable events take place along the way.

“The greatest attention is attracted by Jaromír Nohavica himself… While all the others continually are seeking something, a kind of absolute knowledge of themselves, whether through God, ritual, music or alcohol, Nohavica is the only one not trying to explain anything. He is striving for nothing, only existing on the screen, perhaps because he discovered this sense within himself long ago and hid it within his songs, which themselves form the impulse for the others to start their own searching. He becomes the symbol and the indication of nearly everything metaphysical that transpires in the film” (reviewer Martina Muziková, Literární noviny, July 22, 2002).

This blog is run by LivingAmsterdam.com, an initiative of Robin Travels to promote the Socially Responsible Tourism.