Lumière cinema: the artistic answer to end-of-summer blues
Ah, the dog days of summer: those languid end-of-summer days when the pleasures of holiday have ended and the spectre of a new school year, or renewed work year, loom. Like me, by this time, you might have exhausted your summer to-do list. The beach holiday? Check. Hiking in the mountains, and biking across the plains? Check, and check. Days spent at the pool or lake? Check. Summer evenings spent sipping rosé on the terrace? Check. School shopping, either for yourself or kids? Oh, too early to start!
So what fills these days, when summer has become somewhat stagnant and, at the same time, fall approaches all too quickly? A trip to Lumière Cinema, with its unique film selection and welcoming café bar, might be just the thing for you.
Lumière - the basics
Lumière Cinema has been at its current location – Bogaardenstraat 40b, a few minutes’ bike from Vrijthof – since 1984. An upgrade in 1984 doubled the number of Lumière’s screening rooms from three to six, and it now stands as the second largest independent cinema in the whole of the Netherlands. On any given day, Lumière may now screen as many as ten different movies, many of which are foreign or independent films.
Rudy Jansen is an employee of the film house, working on marketing, publicity, volunteer coordinating, and bartending. He explains Lumière’s unique appeal: “It’s a place where the love of filmmaking as an art form still rides high, where the new films of, let’s say, David Lynch, the Coen brothers, and Wong Kar Wai are as welcomed as the first drops of sunlight in our tiny weather-beaten country. We’re not shy to show films from the likes of Kazakhstani directors, obscure American independent artists, and the highly-regarded metteurs-en-scène of the current French film scene.”
Showing interesting, quality films isn’t Lumière’s only selling point—it features a bar, too. Anyone can enjoy reasonably-priced coffee, beer, wine, or mixed drinks at Lumière’s indoor café, which boasts a fun, lively atmosphere. “Lumière’s bar is a pleasant place for meeting and conversing with other film lovers about culture, art, life, and love…. and for those who just appreciate a good drink!” says Rudy.
Monika Piessens, a volunteer at Lumière, echoes this assessment. “That’s the nice thing about Lumière—it has this wonderful space to have a drink and chat. A lot of guests hang around much longer than the movie.” She also pointed out the big reading table in the lobby of Lumière, complete with quality intellectual magazines for patrons to browse.
Indeed, out of all the independent movie theaters I’ve enjoyed – on four different continents, no less – I’ve yet to encounter one with the kind of meeting and discussion space offered by Lumière in the form of a lovely café bar. This addition elevates the film house to a welcoming, engaging community space, above and beyond the quality cinema it can claim to be.
Recent themes and events
The variety of the cinema’s patrons mirrors its diverse film offerings. Monika reports that a majority of filmgoers are 50 years old and up, but that the vast offering of special events and screenings attracts people of all ages and backgrounds. In fact, Rudy says that this year, the staff has made it a goal to attract more foreigners, and foreign students, to the theatre. Although films subtitled in English cost significantly more than Dutch films, he says Lumière has been courting the expatriate community in Maastricht by showing more of these films than usual. That said, because Lumière shows international films almost exclusively – this week, films from Sweden, France, Mongolia, Chad, and the U.S. are screening – English subtitles can be difficult to come by when the audience language preference is so overwhelmingly Dutch.
Even so, Lumière has hosted or organized several special events aimed at foreigners and/or students. The International School of Governance, a Masters and PhD-granting program of the University of Maastricht, occasionally sponsors a screening at Lumière of specially selected films, which are meant to bridge the academic and artistic by relating to students’ studies.
On these evenings, other patrons must pay the regular ticket price, but students (who are mostly international, due to the nature of the academic program) can enjoy the film for free, with the added bonus of a free drink ticket. During the spring semester, the International School of Governance showed “The Paper Will Be Blue”, a Romanian film about that country’s democratic uprising in 1989, to a large, enthusiastic, mainly student audience.
Additionally, Amnesty International Maastricht Student group sometimes shows relevant documentaries at Lumière, which attracts students and foreigners alike. After the film, Amnesty members utilize Lumière’s café by inviting participants to stay, have a drink, and discuss the film. In May, they screened a Palestinian film with English subtitles, called “Bil’in, My Love” about friendship in the face of the violent daily struggle of the people in occupied lands. Lumière also shows innovation in partnering with private sector firms, in addition to community groups, to produce film events. This past January, the Maastricht law firm Paulussen Advocaten sponsored Al Gore’s documentary “An Inconvenient Truth” to be shown for free at Lumière for three weeks, in order to raise local awareness about climate change.
Furthermore, Lumière serves as the venue for nationwide film events. Just this year, Maastricht’s independent film house has played host to the subsidiary of the Latin American film festival, Jewish, African, and Buddhist film festivals, the gay Winterpride festival, and a music event called Jazz Maastricht. Additionally, Lumière participated in the annual Kunsttour as a site where students explored new media technologies, like YouTube.
As if all this weren’t enough, for two years Lumière has organized its own independent Film Festival Maastricht, which features yet-to-be released international films, career retrospectives of certain filmmakers, and a few classic films. “It’s always a hell of a lot of organizing, but it turns out to be loads of fun,” says Rudy. Currently, Lumière is showing Wereldcinema, a collection of recent films from far-flung cultures and locations. Mongolian and Turkish films are presently featuring.
And if none of these myriad events are to your liking, Lumière gives Maastrichters the opportunity to rent out a screening room and request a film to be played. Whew - I’m tired just writing all these options!
Community engagement at Lumière
Because Lumière stays afloat on government subsidies, its corps of local volunteers are essential to keeping the operation going smoothly. Rudy emphasizes that Lumière “manages to show films daily and provide (rather splendid) cups of cappuccino solely due to the efforts of volunteers.” Over 120 men and women of all ages assist Lumière on an unpaid basis, although that doesn’t mean they don’t receive benefits. All volunteers receive free entrance to all films, but Rudy says their help benefits Lumière more than anything. In fact, without these motivated local people, Lumière couldn’t continue to exist, he claims. Unfortunately, however, because a good command of Dutch is needed in order to communicate with patrons, foreigners and expats comprise only a small percentage of volunteers.
Monika, a 20-year-old student specializing in social sciences at University College Maastricht, says she found Lumière a welcome getaway from the rather limiting student life she found at university. “Young people are cool, but I needed to get away from student values at times,” she explains, and notes that most of the volunteers are about thirty or older. “I love it that the people who work here are very passionate, interested in movies and life. I always end up having interesting conversations… and I get free drinks!”
Monika, like most Lumière volunteers, was a devoted fan of the film house and its unique brand of independent cinema before she started volunteering. “I heard a friend got a job as a volunteer and could go to movies for free. I decided to try that, too,” she says. She now works four hours every two weeks at Lumière, usually sitting behind the counter with another volunteer. Volunteer jobs cover everything which is necessary to keep Lumière running: selling and taking tickets, screening the movies, bartending, and making the monthly magazine, among other tasks. “Volunteers do it for fun,” Monika related, “so we enjoy our time, chilling together especially during breaks between the movie blocks.”
Volunteering certainly seems beneficial for film lovers: free entrance to movies, a chance to meet people with similar interests, and the knowledge that you’re part of what makes Lumière tick. Further, the presence of so many volunteers gives the film house a kind of credibility that is perhaps lacking in other more mainstream cinemas. It means that 120 Maastrichters, at least, are deeply invested in our only independent cinema. If these volunteers are so dedicated to Lumière that they’ll give up a few hours every week or two, it must be an indispensable component of Maastricht’s cultural landscape.
See for yourself
Both Rudy and Monika report that Lumière has done especially well this summer, attracting hordes of film lovers on most evenings. It does seem as if, with the unique film selection, opportunities for hanging out and discussing, and the involvement of volunteers, Lumière Cinema “is more than just a cinema,” Rudy says. “For those looking for a nice night out in the city, Lumière is a welcome addition to Maastricht’s cultural scene and a great place to visit.” As the last weeks of summer drag on, Lumière just might be the perfect place to cure your end-of-summer blues. And be sure to stick around for a drink afterward!
By Jessica Mowles
Jessica Mowles studies political science at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota. She spent the past semester at Maastricht’s Center for European Studies.
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