The Winter Night Garden
Indoor Christmas Cinema in an enchanted Forest
2015 Winter, Backyard Cinema constructed its very own enchanted forest which customers could only access through a secret tunnel of trees. Once inside the magical hidden indoor woodland, a huge cinema made up of beanbags and sofas made the setting for the 4 week long season of festive favourites enjoyed by both children and adults. A truly magical setting for a magical selection of films.
Backyard Cinema Film Festival - 2015
6 weeks - 2 screens - 36 films
With Camden Market as our outdoor cinema home now we wanted to really push the boat out and create something more than just a movie played outside. The Backyard Cinema Film Festival was created and boasted not only the addition of our second screen but a whole host of entertainment, food and drink before and during the shows. On our Main stage we showed better known blockbusters and classics like Clueless and the all singing and dancing Grease. Over on our Cuban Screen, customers had to delve a little deeper into the market to find a selection of more unusual indie flicks including horrors, documentaries and new releases.
More than just the movies: With a converted army truck serving fresh draft beer by Brooklyn, a dedicated burger van from Honest Burgers knocking out our custom Backyard Burger we set the festival tone. Posh Popcorn, Nitro ice cream, live DJ's and surprise live bands made up some of the extra entertainment along with those famous BYC beanbags. We had a blast, we hope you did too.
LYNX BLACK SPACE
Documentaries Discussed
In the heart of Brick lane, the guys from LYNX brought us the new pop up BLACKSPACE. This cool, intimate setting transported us back to our roots. With only 30 audience members all watching from cushioned seating, sofas and deckchairs. We handpicked Documentaries sharing the themes of Brotherhood, Passion, Selflessness, Loss and Family to name a few.
The films succeeded in tackling challenging subjects which were fun to watch but also sparked discussions about these incredibly moving pieces. It was pretty special with talks from some of the films producers we felt connected to cinema again and hopefully have placed some food for thought.
Romeo and Juliet
In a Church with a live choir
William shakespeare, arguably the greatest playwright that ever lived gave us the tragic love story of Romeo and Juliet. And what better way to celebrate him than watching Baz Luhrmanns 1996 modern rendition, starring Leo & Claire. It gave us all goosebumps the first time around, but now nearly 20 years on we had the chance to screen the greatest love story ever told with a twist. In a candle lit church, accompanied by a live choir.
The Some Voices choir, famous for their modern take on choir ensembles, wowed the audience. Surrounded by candlelight they brought new life to the already superb soundtrack including favourites like Everybody's free and Kissing you. Our exclusively short three day run sold out in weeks and we watched crowds of happy customers leave, sometimes in tears after watching one of their favourite films brought to life in this original setting and style.
Watch this space guys, we are going to be doing a lot more like this.
Awards Season
We kick started the year with our Awards Season. A celebration of the great films of the year and where better to host this than 28 floors above London with breath taking views of the Thames.
Guests arrived on the red carpet and were met with surprise 1950's paparazzi before being whisked up in the elevator to enjoy the views. Award winning cocktails served by the Young Cuban courtesy of Bacardi and champagne poured it was glitz and glamour before the show. Popcorn and ice cream from the amazing Cream & Country got everyone in the cinema mood as the lights dimmed and the show started.
This was so popular we are looking to do a regular event here. Watch this space.
Backyard Cinema: Apocalypse 2014
Backyard Cinema: Apocalypse threw customers into a 4 hour long theatrical cinema experience with live actors, multiple rooms, a zombie movie and an End of the World party for the survivors.
The lucky survivors located the secret East London safe house in Hackney Wick & entered first through decontamination, then gained supplies from Brooklyn Brewery and Benitos Hat in the army bar.
Exploring the secret lab our selection of survivors examined zombies through cages and glass windows before watching the film. After a catastrophic failure it was survival of the fittest as those zombies were no longer behind bars and it was every man for himself to make it back to the bar for the End of the World Party. Our biggest and most involved event to date.
Camden Lock 2014 - Outdoor Cinema
It was a real privilege to be asked back to Camden Lock this summer and what a summer it has been. Bigger screen, more beanbags and more screenings. The likes of sing and dance-a-longs to Grease and Dirty Dancing went down a storm along with our special surprise brass band for Blues Brothers.
To compliment the giant beanbags, deckchairs and iconic setting, we had 1950's usherettes serving our sponsors great food and drink to your seats. Beers from Brewdog and cocktails from El Jimador wet the pallet, whilst patty kings, Honest Burgers served up the custom made 'Backyard Burger', arguably the best burger in London.
We hope you loved it as much as we did, see you next summer.
The Town Hall Hotel
Teaming up with the amazing Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal green we invited you to come and Immerse yourself in a luxury cinematic experience. We invited you to experience the nostalgia of the big screens golden age, surrounded by splendor with your very own usherette. Serving posh popcorn and chocolate cigarettes. Relaxing in 100 year old leather and walnut sofa seats within the listen council chamber made for an opulent setting while sampling luxury cocktails, served with precision and bespoke, Backyard Cinema taster box’s created by the hotels award winning chefs.
Apocalypse: Camden Lock Indoor Market
“QUICK! You need to find safety. The infection is spreading! People are doing crazy things and we’re running out of time. I've heard there’s a safe house at Camden Lock Indoor Market. There’s protection, food and shelter. It’s our only chance to survive the apocalypse!”
Our biggest and most immersive screening season to date. Customers had to literally fight their way through the zombie infested courtyard to get into the screening room. SWAT men, army guys and doctors patrolled the safe house where everyone enjoyed food from Honest burger and drinks at the bar, before being ushered at gunpoint into the screening room inside Camden Lock Market. With a selection of light hearted zombies films and down right terrifying horrors all presented in a fully themed ‘end of the world’ setting, it made for the perfect Halloween experience.
Camden Lock 2013 - Outdoor Cinema
Backyard Cinema headed back to its birthplace, North London, this summer. Where better than the iconic, otherworldly setting that is Camden Lock Market? With over 100 beanbags and deckchairs to choose from not to mention the 12ft outdoor screen and huge sound system, all tucked behind the canal, it made the perfect setting for an outdoor summer screening.
A dedicated Rekorderlig bar and table (chair) service from 'patty experts' Honest Burger polished it all off, as customers sat back, cider and burger in hand to enjoy the films. We screened summer specials such as Stand By Me, laughable gore fest Evil Dead 2 and the exclusive outdoor screening of Shane Meadows, critically acclaimed;The Stone Roses - Made of Stone.
London Fields Brewery - Mini Movie Festivals
After a fantastic experience at Beach Blanket Babylon we wanted to do something a bit different and what better than a full weekend movie festival at the fantastic London Fields Brewery? All accompanied with craft beers, beanbags, deckchairs, DJ’s, live bands, BBQ food and bunting! We had new releases, cult classics and polished it all off with a sing and dance along Blues Brothers screening. It went so well in fact that we did three of them!
Beach Blanket Babylon Shoreditch
This high end cocktail bar was the perfect setting for a truly luxury pop-up experience. Fitting with the decedent style of the bar and restaurant, the somewhat secret attic space was filled with red velvet sofas, cushions, blankets and tables for customers to enjoy carefully crafted cocktails or indulge in high end food from the extensive restaurant menu, all topped off with table service throughout. Perfect for a range of films; from Ben Affleck’s multi award-winning “Argo” to the Tarantino-penned classic “From Dusk Til Dawn”. Margaritas and popcorn in hand this really was Backyard Cinema turned posh, with the same great pop-up feel.
The Victorian Vaults
Backyard Cinema kicked off its opening season in this beautifully atmospheric, underground gallery location. Based in Shoreditch, East London, guests navigated their way through an unassuming side door, greeted by a candle lit stairwell to enjoy a selection of signature cocktails with the smell of fresh popcorn beckoning them to the screening room. Here an array of cosy bean bags, deep sofas, double camping chairs and even discarded car seats provided the auditorium for a selection of hand-picked films, including home grown Richard Ayoade’s warm hearted “Submarine” and Spanish horror meisters Balagueró and Plaza’s “[REC]”.
