After several years without a movie theater, the city of Bobigny finally has a cinema again. A six-screen public complex opens its doors on Wednesday, March 11th in the prefecture of Seine-Saint-Denis, with actor and director Jean-Pascal Zadi as its patron.
A cinema eagerly awaited since the closure of the Magic
The municipality and the public establishment Est Ensemble are inaugurating a cultural facility eagerly awaited by residents. Bobigny had been without a cinema since the closure in 2019 of the Magic, a small two-screen complex located in a shopping center that has since been demolished. For several years, the city had to make do with traveling film screenings.
The new venue, named the Alice Guy Cinema after a public consultation, comprises six screens and 865 seats spread across three levels. Located in the city center district, between the prefecture and the town hall, it represents an investment of 23 million euros, according to AFP. The building is designed to be multi-purpose: three screens can be converted to host live performances, and the lobby will house a café-bookshop, a facility not yet available in the town.
A broad program and an emphasis on media literacy
The cinema aims to reach a broad audience by mixing mainstream films with art-house works. Ticket prices have been designed to remain affordable, between 4 and 7 euros per screening. The project also includes significant work with young audiences and media literacy programs, explained operations manager Victor Courgeon, quoted by Radio France.
To mark the opening, Jean-Pascal Zadi will be present at the first screening, scheduled for Wednesday at 16:30 p.m. The choice of patron is not insignificant: the actor, born in Bondy, lives in the Est Ensemble area and has already filmed in Bobigny, notably for the two seasons of his series En Place. The launch campaign has also mobilized local residents and several local artists, such as the rapper WaïV and the documentary filmmaker Aïssatou Bathily.
