For the shortest night of the year, 20 Minutes went into #20Minuit mode and went to meet those who live, work, dance or sweat at night. #20Minuit is a series of articles, videos, podcasts or quizzes to read, watch or listen to day and night.
At Champo, there are two queues. The first, for room number one, is located rue des Ecoles and runs alongside the Balzar brasserie. The second, rue Champollion, intended for theater number two, lets travelers from dark rooms wait on a narrow sidewalk that runs through this street where three cinemas follow one another.
It is here, in the center of the capital, that Paul and Morgat meet. Tonight they decided to spend the night at the cinema together. If for Paul it’s a first, Morgat is not his first experience: “I often did this kind of night sessions with my father when I was little”. So when he saw that a cinema in Paris was offering this experience, he immediately suggested it to his friend, who let him be tempted.
Contrary to platforms, meeting at the cinema
This is not the Champo’s first sleepless night. Opened in 1938, the concept has been around for a long time. But it was only after the Covid and its successive confinements that the organizers made it a regular meeting place. Once a month, the cinema leaves its doors open all night and invites moviegoers to gather around a thematic evening. This night, Japanese animation is in the spotlight.
In charge of programming, Elie Bartin, 24 years old. Chief media editor Super Seven, he enjoys organizing and hosting evenings at the Cinémathèque, in film clubs, and recently at the Champo. Attached to mediation, he sees them as an opportunity to fill cinemas. “Events bring people in,” he explains, highlighting the losses recorded by cinemas due to the health crisis.
A cinephile “since the age of 18”, it is also for him the means of renewing a dialogue on films. Outside, he seems in a hurry. When the participants come to question him, ask for film advice, his speech is urgent, his delivery fast. Too many things to say, too much passion, too much necessity too. It’s not just him. It was mainly young people who made the trip. Something to rejuvenate the usual Champo audience.
Cinema enthusiasts for whom the night screenings offer the possibility of discovering nuggets or seeing a classic on the big screen. In this new episode of Wait a minute ! », we went to meet these veterans of night cinema. From Gabriel, the eldest of this evening, to Quentin, the projectionist, we have all asked them this question: at a time when Netflix, Prime Video or Disney+ are betting on a 24-hour home service, why go to the cinema night ? What’s so special about a cinema at night? Answers in this podcast.