Cinema Walk 2nd Yokohama City Fujitana Shopping Street “Cinema Novecento”
"Cinema Walk" introduces mini theaters in Kanagawa Prefecture. The second main role will be a unique mini-theater consisting of a 28-seat theater and trattoria, which is proud to be the world's smallest.
If you walk for about 10 minutes from Tobe Station on the Keikyu Main Line or Nishi-Yokohama Station on the Sagami Railway Main Line, you will be drawn to a small shopping street crowded with locals. This Fujitana shopping street, also known as Yokohama's downtown area, has a well-balanced coexistence of long-established stores that have been around since the Taisho era and new stores that incorporate the latest trends.
As I entered the back of this shopping street, which still had a somewhat nostalgic atmosphere, I was struck by the signboards lined with the faces of world-famous stars. The words lining the temple-like white gate read ``Cinema Novecento''.
The exterior fits perfectly into the shopping street, giving the impression that it has been watching over this area for a long time, but it was only opened in 2015. It has such an impressive presence that it's hard to believe that it's only been 10 years since it opened. Representative Katsuhiko Minowa originally operated a cinema bar called ``The Grissom Gang'' in Kawasaki, but it closed in 2013 due to the deterioration of the building, and he opened a new ``Cinema Novecento'' in this location. It was decided to open.
As soon as you pass through the gate, you walk up a narrow staircase, and the walls and ceiling are covered with still photographs, making you feel as if you are stepping into the world of a movie one step at a time. When you arrive on the second floor, you will be greeted by a reception desk that also serves as a store, and a spacious bar space. The lobby area of this theater is a bar, so you can grab a drink right after enjoying the movie! Like Novecento (which means 1900 in Italian), this bar is also affectionately known as ``trattoria'' in Italian.
This theater is proud to be the world's smallest, with a whopping 28 seats! It's a size that makes you think it's the smallest, but it's also close to the screen, making it easy to immerse yourself in the world of movies. It will give you a different experience than watching a movie at a big movie theater or watching it at home. The purple and yellow seats that add color to the black-based theater are said to have been inherited from the much-loved Kichijoji Baus Theater, which closed.
This theater uses 35mm and 16mm film projectors to screen about three films a day, but what's particularly noteworthy is the lineup that can be described as maniacal. The program's focus on film has captured the hearts of movie fans. Foreign films that have not been released in Japan are sometimes introduced as ``Cinema Novecento Distribution,'' so you can enjoy a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see works that can only be seen here. This is a unique lineup that you won't see anywhere else, including your favorite works that you've watched over and over again on video, DVD, and Blu-ray, as well as undiscovered works that haven't been left behind, from masterpieces to lost works.
This theater, where you can feel the director's love for movies everywhere, is loved by many regulars, and some even come from far away to visit. Audience opinions are sometimes incorporated into screenings and talk show guests, and I feel that this is a place where theaters, audiences, and film-related people come together as one.
Cinema Novecento is one of the must-visit movie theaters for movies that can only be seen here, for hidden masterpieces you haven't seen yet, and for once-in-a-lifetime experiences.
Click here for Cinema Walk #1 “Cinema Jack & Betty”
Click here for the 3rd Cinema Walk “Yokohama Cinemarin”
