August: Open-air Cinema festival month
It’s been a while since we last posted a new blog on our completely renewed Amsterdam Teleport Hotel website so it’s time for a completely fresh and up-to-date blog about open-air cinema festivals that will hopefully get you even more excited for your upcoming stay at the hotel and trip to Amsterdam!
During the beautiful summer months Amsterdam and especially during August and September there are a lot of different places where you can go after sunset for a great outdoor movie experience. The best thing about it all is that most of the movie festivals are free, have a selection of super interesting international movies that would normally end up under your movie radar and festivals usually have a good selection of food trucks and bars to set you up for a perfect evening out.
Before we will tell you what movie festivals are out there this month here is a small list of tips to make sure you don’t end up with a sour butt, getting soaked, cold, not being able to see or understand anything or ending your night with a “what the fuck did I just see” feeling.
- Bring a pillow, portable seat or make sure to arrive on time to claim one of the sometimes paid comfortable beach chairs available on site. Trust us, nothing is more annoying than sitting on cold hard soil and trying to find a good sitting position throughout the whole movie.
- Always bring a poncho or proper umbrella (unless weather forecasts are really amazing) or you might end up getting soaked during the movie. Yes, you are still in Amsterdam so weather can be quite capricious.
- Be there on time. Open-air movies are super popular and local people tend to come early to secure their good spot. Make sure you do the same or you will end up sitting somewhere in the back with your grumpy girl / boy-friend next to you.
- Do your research beforehand. There is a wide range of festivals and movies to choose from but not all movies are everyone’s cup of tea. Some of them are quite heavy, weird or controversial or all of that at the same time. Some festivals tend to show more easy accessible and at the same time very cool movies and other festivals want to give a stage to less known gems of the alternative cinema scene.
- Make sure to check the language if you don’t speak English or Dutch. Luckily for you, you are not in Germany, France, Italy or Spain but in Holland. If there is one thing Dutch people hate, it’s dubbed movies, so good for you, all the international movies will either be in English or subtitled in English. In the rare occasion of a Dutch movie, you might end up being lucky with English subtitles or none at all, so just in case check!
- Last but not least, even after a beautiful summer day it can get quite chilly in the evening. So if you don’t want to screw up your date, or actually increasing the chance of having a successful one make sure to bring a warm blanket to cover yourself with.
If you made it to this passage it means the list above didn’t scare you away and you ready for a memorable evening under the stars among lots of cool local people. Here is a roundup of all the open-air movie festivals and screenings in Amsterdam the coming month(s):
Pluk de Nacht – Stenen Hoofd (4,3 km) – 14/08/2019 – 24/08/2019
Pluk de Nacht (seize the night) is located on the Stenen Hoofd, an abandoned pier about 1 km west from Amsterdam Central station. Pluk de Nacht started in 2003 and became one the most popular free open-air movie festivals in the city. Pluk de Nacht is known for screening of unreleased independent arthouse cinema, documentary, animation and shorts, attracting both film enthusiasts and professionals. Make sure not to leave right after the movie as usually there is a small party with a DJ spinning some cool summer tunes.
World Cinema Amsterdam – Various locations – 15/08/2019 – 24/08/2019
World Cinema Amsterdam, currently celebrating it’s 10 year anniversary, is a big movie festival with different locations all over the city. Two of the locations (Marie Heinekenplein and Vondelpark) have free admission. This years programs consists out of screening the best independent films from Africa, Asia, Latin-America and the Caribbean. During this years special edition of the festival there is a program called ‘Cinema Indonesia’ with a focus on independent Indonesian cinema.
Bijlmerbios – Kraaiennest 63 (12,5 km) – 30-08-2019 – 31-08-2019
For a true multicultural and urban movie experience you should head out to the Bijlmer in Amsterdam South-East. This small event takes place underneath metrostation Kraaiennest. The movies being screened here to a certain extend all have a relation with the Bijlmer district. BlackKkKlansman, Black Panther and especially Green Book are totally worth checking out this year.
On The Roof Film Festival – VU university (5,7 km) – 03-09-2019 – 06-09-2019
The On The Roof Film Festival literally takes place on the rooftop (with a beautiful view over the city) of the VU university at the Boelelaan. Ticket prices range from €12,- to €19,5. Honour killing, government fertility programmes, the chance to do everything again, but in a different way and the impossible expectations placed on women are the four film themes this year, that change our perspective on society.
West Beach Film Festival – Sloterplas (1 km) – 12-09-2019 – 22-09-2019
The West Beach Film Festival is probably one of the cosiest and relaxed movie festivals of the city. Apart from being entirely donation based (so free for cheap asses) this festival is only 1 km away from the hotel. The festival is hosted at a beautiful location next to the Sloterplas (so bring insect repellent) and almost feels like a secret escape from the city. From far you can already see the beautiful coloured light in the trees that create an almost Big Fish like magical movie experience. There is no official line-up of movies available yet but don’t be afraid to walk away here completely confused. There is always a cool line-up of shorts followed by a full feature movie.
Metro Movies – Gaasperdammertunnel (14,6 km) – 20-09-2019 – 22-09-2019
Metro Movies marks the end of the open-air movie season inside the unopened Gaasperdammertunnel (not for claustrophobic people). This three day movie festival has great variety in it’s program with living art and a fashion show on Saturday and Sunday, food trucks and DJ’s plus VJ’s blending movie and music into a memorable experience after the screening. Make sure to check their website for a full movie schedule (especially US looks creepy but totally worth watching) and to get your cheap early bird tickets in advance.
Teleport Invites:
Last but not least we invite you to join us for the Pluk de Nacht film festival. Adam, our awesome local guide and Teleporter, will take you and other hotel guests out for an unforgettable movie experience. The rental bikes to get there and the first two drinks are on us! #teleportinvites #goteleport
Want to know when Adam is going out with hotel guests? Make sure to check the event blackboard in the hotel lobby and to join the weekly live event round-up’s on Friday and Saturday at our own private beach up front the hotel where we will explain you everything about what’s happening in the city and invite you to join us for one of the events.
Hope to see you soon!
