Cinema São Jorge celebrates 75 years of films with a special program

Cinema São Jorge celebrates 75 years of films with a special program

On February 24th, Cinema São Jorge will reach the milestone of 75 years of screening Lisbon’s most important films. Founded in 1950 by the British Rank Organization, São Jorge has gone through political regimes, technological changes and changes in cultural consumption habits, reaching this milestone with the same desire to continue to be Lisbon’s leading cinema, while at the same time reinforcing its public service identity.

Today, the program is structured around major themed film festivals, on the fringes of mass commercial exhibition, but with doors open to various forms of artistic expression that go beyond the seventh art. It host concerts and theater performances, conferences and presentations, stand-up comedy acts and charity galas. And tapes, lots of them, starting with previews of Portuguese cinema. Now, as a way of celebrating, Cinema São Jorge decided to go back to the beginning, with a program overview that takes us back to some of the most important moments in Cinema São Jorge’s programming, discreetly winking at the future.

Charles Chaplin’s The Golden Chimera with the Lisbon Film Orchestra

On February 24, at 9 p.m., Sala Manoel de Oliveira will open its doors and screen to the iconic The Golden Chimera, in a cine-concert starring the Lisbon Film Orchestra. On this occasion, Cinema São Jorge will be bringing together two significant anniversaries – the 75th anniversary of São Jorge and the 100th anniversary of this silent film masterpiece; the one that, in his own words, Charles Chaplin would always like to be remembered for. Accompanying the adventures of a drifter prospecting for gold in Alaska, who falls in love with the beautiful Georgia, will be the Lisbon Film Orchestra performing live the film’s original score, whose soundtrack was composed by the director.

75 years of movies in 5 tapes

A classic musical premiered in 1950, three films cut up by the Censorship and the first post-Revolution hit: this is how Cinema São Jorge will punctuate the anniversary week, visiting emblematic moments of this room full of stories. And history. A Day in New York, with Frank Sinatra and Gene Kelly, premiered the year São Jorge opened – the first movie shown was The Red Shoes – and helped set the tone for the popularity that this theater enjoyed for decades. The unmissable Roma, by Federico Fellini, The Great Escape, by John Sturges (with the immortal Steve McQueen) and A Violin on the Roof, by Norman Jewison, a lesson in hope and empathy, premiered in this house at the time they were released. But there was a catch – they were all shredded by the Estado Novo’s Commission for the Examination and Classification of Performances. Now we return to them in their entirety. Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango in Paris was the first success of Cinema in Freedom, having premiered in Cinema São Jorge in August 1975 and remained in theaters for six months, with multiple sold-out screenings. In this short summary of thousands and thousands of hours of screenings, we recall a little of the history of this unique theater.

Workshop STOP! Animation!

With a wink to the future and to the younger generation, on March 1st and 2nd Cinema São Jorge is opening the STOP! Animation workshop, usually reserved for schools, as part of Afim de Filmes, Cinema São Jorge’s educational project. During the workshop, participants will learn about an animation technique used in well-known films such as Chicken Run, The Lion Sheep or Jack’s Strange World. But as well as learning the rudiments of this technique, they will, in groups, be able to create their own short film, using materials provided by the Cinema São Jorge team, and, using their creativity, they will compose their first work in stop motion

Complete anniversary program:

February 24, 9pm: Charles Chaplin’s The Gold Rush, with the Lisbon Film Orchestra, Sala MdO

February 25, 9pm: Last Tango in Paris, by Bernardo Bertolucci, Room 3

February 27: Roma, by Federico Fellini, Sala 3

February 28, 9pm: The Great Escape, by John Sturges, Room 3

March 1, 10am: STOP! Motion Workshop, Room 2

March 1, 3pm: Behind-the-scenes tour of the cinema

March 1, 9pm: A Violin on the Roof, by Norman Jewison, Room 3

March 2, 10am: STOP! Motion Workshop, Room 2

March 2, 4pm: A Day in New York, by Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen, Room 3

All film screenings are free, subject to capacity, and tickets must be collected from the Cinema São Jorge box office on the day of the screening.

Participation in the workshops and guided tour is also free, subject to a limit on the number of participants, and must be registered at projetoeducativo@cinemasaojorge.pt.

https://cinemasaojorge.pt/