Intimate cinemas in Łódź: 5 places with niche programming

Łódź is the film capital of Poland: it is home to the country's best known film school, whose graduates include Roman Polański and the late Andrzej Wajda. Film fans come to the city not only to see the Walk of Fame on Piotrkowska, but also to catch a screening at one of its intimate, niche cinemas, alongside chain multiplexes such as Cinema City.

Kino Charlie

The cinema at Piotrkowska 203/205 has been running since 1994, on the site of the former seat of the Łódź Centre for Ideological Education. It was founded by Sławomir Fijałkowski, a lover of ambitious European cinema and organiser of artistic and film events. Charlie has long co-organised festivals and reviews: the European Cinema Forum "Cinergia", the Independent Cinema Creators' Festival "OFF jak gorąco", the International Animation Festival "ReAnimacja", and it is also involved in New Horizons and Camerimage. Since 2002 it has awarded its own "Złoty Glan" prize to independent film-makers. The programme is still updated regularly; it is worth checking on the cinema's own website before a visit.

Kinematograf

This cinema has been running since 2006 inside the Museum of Cinematography at pl. Zwycięstwa 1, in the former carriage house of the Scheibler Palace. The hall has raw brick walls, a wooden floor, and equipment for both 2K digital screenings and 35mm and 16mm film, a rarity today. The programme mixes new releases with world cinema classics, alongside festivals and meetings with film-makers: directors, actors, cinematographers, animators. The museum, and the cinema with it, is open Wednesday to Sunday: 11am-6pm at weekends, 9am-4pm on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday (closed Monday and Tuesday).

Kino Szpulka

The cinema at the Łódź House of Culture (Traugutta 18) has two halls, part of the Network of Studio and Local Cinemas and the Digital Cinema Network. The programme is mostly European and art-house cinema, with the occasional American production, often built around themed reviews: Polish cinema, director retrospectives, classics, Spanish, French, Italian, British or Scandinavian cinema. The cinema itself highlights its intimate atmosphere and the absence of popcorn smell, setting it apart from the multiplexes.

Kino Tatry

This is the oldest running cinema in Łódź, opened in 1907 at ul. Sienkiewicza 40, originally as the Belle-Vue cinematograph. It has been through several eras, including plans to turn it into a cinema museum that never materialised: it reopened after a winter break and is now run by Paweł Adrian, an enthusiast and connoisseur of Łódź cinema history. The programme is author and independent cinema, shown at set screenings, mostly at weekends.

Kino Szkoły Filmowej

This cinema operates at ul. Targowa 61/63, on the first floor of the Film School's Rectorate building (building A). It shows world cinema classics, often from 35mm film, together with works by outstanding directors. The cinema also runs a Film Discussion Club for viewers who want to talk about what they have just watched. Screenings take place Monday to Friday at 7pm; it is worth checking the current programme and admission details on the film school's website before a visit.

If five is not enough, it is also worth visiting EC1, where the National Centre for Film Culture runs two intimate 49-seat halls, named Urania and Luna, alongside the larger Odeon hall.