Digestible cinema: Film+Dinner by Secret Cinema

Watching film on virgin territory

We are at the first official edition of Film+Dinner, organised by Secret Cinema. As the organisation’s name suggests, Secret Cinema offers unconventional film experiences on hidden spots in Antwerp.

Founder Wies Sanders is an urban planner from Rotterdam, where she curated the Architecture Film Festival for 8 years. She has now followed her love/ business partner Luuk to Antwerp. Because of her professional background, the films’ locations are her prime focus. With Secret Cinema she only reveals at the last moment where the film will be screened. Other times, the location is known, but the film is still a surprise.

‘I love finding spaces where people normally do not have the access to go and then show a film there that is perfectly fit for the location’, Wies tells. ‘In Rotterdam, we went underground with the film Im Keller, a documentary about what Austrians do in their basements.’

Setting the scene

The Film+Dinner screenings are at Wies and Luuk’s own home, of which they renovated the ground level with much time and effort to make it an adequate environment for a home cinema, with outside light efficiently blocked by big black blinds. And it is beautiful too: the ceiling is made up of wooden beams and joists and the wall is decorated with a collection of various old maps from the Low Countries. A picture of John Travolta keeps you company on the toilet.

Wies took the Film+Dinner idea with her from Rotterdam: ‘In the neighbourhood where I lived, there was a community centre where I was a member of both the film and the cooking club. At first the film club did not really take off - until the cooking club started to cater to the film club. In Rotterdam this developed into the concept ‘Cinema Culinair’, which in Antwerp will go by the name ‘Film+Dinner’.

A virtual reality of taste

‘The design of Film+Dinner is that you get the food by the time the character in the film eats the same thing,’ Wies explains. ‘A timer appears on screen so you can put your fork in your mouth at the precise moment the character does so. The experience of watching the film and of tasting the food enhance one another. By watching a Brazilian or Japanese film, you learn more about the culture and immediately discover the local cuisine. You go on holiday while you eat.’

After the first course, we have to agree that having the food synchronised with the film gives a new dimension to both senses, like a virtual reality of taste. The food choice and presentation prevented us from getting dragged out of the movie experience: none of the food required extensive cutting and the presence of a reading lamp goes a long way to make sure you can actually see what you are doing.

Film choice is of utmost importance as well. If a film needs its audience to be fully involved all the time, the whole experience would fall apart quickly. Luckily Wies picked Charlie Chaplin’s Modern Times, which is very easy to follow and gets the laughs through simple jokes that don’t involve an extensive set-up.

Next edition on Ocotber 20 is dedicated to the Brazilian film Estômago, for Wies has planned an extensive menu combining Brazilian and Italian cuisine. Since we left Secret Cinema stuffed like Christmas turkeys, €30 is a very fair price for the film and dinner combination.

Tickets and more information on this exceptional experience at secretcinema.be.