Bristol’s Ultimate Outdoor Cinema Guide 2017

The sun is shining (details correct at time of writing) and the al fresco screening season will soon be in full swing. Here’s our guide to what’s on offer so far. There is, as the old cliche goes, something for everyone here, from ballet and opera in Millennium Square to an immersive event aboard a tall ship and all the usual outdoor cinema staples. There are even two screenings of Oscar winner La La Land, which could yet usurp Dirty Dancing as the nation’s favourite outdoor musical.

Some events are still being confirmed and additional ones will no doubt be added. Follow the links below for our individual listings with screening times and ticket info.

Passport to Pimlico
Christmas Steps, June 2

Now with added Brexit resonance, this Ealing comedy charmer celebrates cosy wartime smalltown togetherness as the inhabitants of Pimlico discover that they are, in fact, part of Burgundy and promptly declare independence. This outdoor screening on Christmas Steps presented by 20th Century Flicks will go ahead unless it pisses with rain, in which case it won’t. There’s food (Beatroot Café) and drink (Weber & Tring’s) from 8pm, with the film on screen at 9pm. Admission is free, though there will be a bucket for donations.

BP Big Screens
Millennium Square, June 7 & July 4

The annual BP Big Screens programme returns for a brace of free screenings broadcast live from the Royal Opera House. On June 7 (yep, the eve of the General Election), you can catch The Dream, Symphonic Variations and Margeurite and Armand –  a mixed programme of three of the finest works by the Royal Ballet’s founder choreographer Frederick Ashton. The Dream is a dance adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream; the abstract Symphonic Variations has been acclaimed as Ashton’s first masterpiece; and Marguerite and Armand is a tragic, lyrical love story inspired by the dance partnership of Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev.  Next, on July 4, there’s a treat for Verdi enthusiasts with Richard Eyre’s oft-revived traditional production of La Traviata. That’s the one in which hot courtesan Violetta falls for toff Alfredo and they shack up together. But having sacrificed her life of luxury for love, she finds herself implored by his dad, Giorgio, to dump him for the sake of the family’s reputation.

Dinema
Memorial Stadium, July 14-16

Dining, cinema, Dinema…geddit? Oh, please yourselves. This ambitious event organised by the Bristol Association of Restaurants, Bars & Independent Establishments is a street food outdoor cinema extravaganza with a bar by Flipside Cocktail Club and Bristol Beer Factory, running alongside the Bristol Independents Summer Fete. They’re showing a kids’ film on the Friday afternoon at 4pm, with the main evening screenings starting at 7.30pm each night. The line-up is as follows:

• July 14 (afternoon): Sing
• July 14: The Blues Brothers
• July 15: Grease
• July 16: Wayne’s World

https://youtu.be/sThuSCJItmQ

Kaskelot
Hannover Quay, July 14-15

The restored classic wooden tall ship Kaskelot reaches Bristol’s Hannover Quay on July 14, laden down with cinematic bounty. During two packed days of activities, audiences will have the opportunity to explore the bowels of this three-masted barque. The first evening concludes in spectacular style with the Kaskelot’s sails alight with looped projected footage of Bristol’s harbourside past. On the second evening, the vessel becomes an expanded cinema with a full open air screening of Wes Anderson’s great nautical comedy The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou, projected onto the rigging and preceded by an aerial circus performance. Following the sell-out success of this event, The Life Aquatic will now also be screened on Friday 14 July. Tickets for this screening are available here. It’s all part of the Celluloid Sail tour curated by Bristol’s very own Compass Events in partnership with the BFI’s Britain on Film project.

Cult Screens
Bristol Zoo, Aug 23-27

Following its first visit to Bristol last August for a five-night run of outdoor screenings at Clifton College, Reading-based Cult Screens returns to town for another feast of cinema under the stars. This time, however, the venue has changed to Bristol Zoo Gardens. Billing itself as “the country’s most luxurious and comfortable open air cinema experience,” Cult Screens offers a variety of seating types to suit all wallets. These range in price from £45 (double beanbag and blanket) to £13.95 (bring your own cushion/chair/arse and sit on it) – all plus inevitable booking fees. Should you wish to soak up cinematic entertainment amid the caged beasts, here’s that line-up in full.

• Aug 23: Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
• Aug 24: Leon
• Aug 25: Pretty Woman
• Aug 26: The Lost Boys
• Aug 27: La La Land

Bristol Bad Film Club’s Annual Outdoor Outrage

Windmill Hill City Farm, Aug 31

Bristol Bad Film Club’s annual al fresco orgy of awfulness will be that jaw-dropping giant mutant killer rabbit flick Night of the Lepus. Rather brilliantly, the screening is in aid of Windmill Hill City Farm and the splendid Holly Hedge Animal Sanctuary. Advance tickets, price £5, are available here.

Bristol Sunset Cinema
Venue & times TBC

An offshoot of the splendid Bristol Bad film Club, Bristol Sunset Cinema had a successful run of six films under the stars at Ashton Court estate last year. Their 2017 screenings are still being finalised, thanks to all that licensing malarkey. But we can tell you that they are likely to be putting on three screenings at the end or August or beginning of September at a central Bristol venue. Keep an eye on their Facebook page for updates.

Luna Cinema
Bath Royal Crescent, Oct 6-7

An established name in outdoor cinema elsewhere in the country, Luna Cinema heads to our neck of the woods for the first time in October for two screenings in Bath’s scenic Royal Crescent. Take your pick between La La Land (Oct 6) and Dirty Dancing (Oct 7).