Angelina Hue

Last June, I wrote a post about old-school adult film cinemas in Brussels and Singapore.

While this has not been outwardly one of my most popular posts (22 ‘likes’ at the time of writing), it is amongst the most frequently viewed articles on my blog. According to the statistics provided by WordPress, this post receives around 8-10 views daily.

Interesting, eh? I never delved into it until a recent comment by a fellow blogger prompted me to do some investigating.

If you type “Brussels adult cinema”, “Singapore adult cinema” or “Brussels porn film” into the Google search engine, this post will be the first result to appear. Talk about search engine optimisation…

So, why am I writing about ABC Cinema again?

Someone commented on the post today that the cinema closed its doors last year. There is an ongoing crowdfunding project to secure the premises lest it ends up becoming yet another unremarkable kebab stall.

The goal is to collect at least 60,000€ in two weeks, by 23 April, in order to take over the nine-year lease. The money will be used to pay the first year’s of rent (4,000€/month), taxes and renovation. Following which, the initial plans are to transform the space into a cultural gathering space for film, music, and other arts.

This effort is led by CinéAct Foundation – an entity specifically created for this project by three film/cinema-related organizations in Brussels:

• Cinéma Nova: A non-profit organization managed a group of volunteers that is dedicated to independently produced films
• Offscreen: Annual film festival started by vzw Marcel to provide an alternative platform for independent audio-visual creations
• La Rétine de Plateau: Manages and organises information on cinemas in Brussels

Quick facts about ABC Cinema (gleaned from different news articles):

• Situated in an old house in Brussels (147-149 Boulevard Aldophe Max), the cinema opened in 1971 and seats 96 people across two levels
• The audience was treated to live striptease performances on the stage during intermissions edit: hourly! Julian Marsh, founder of the Erotic Film Society, shared that the projector was stopped every hour for these performances regardless of what was showing on the screen
• The interiors are reminiscent of the 1970s while the ceiling on the mezzanine features a fresco-like collage (according to an article in De Standaard, it comprises mostly of boobs!)
• The curtains came down in June 2013 following the retirement of the cinema’s 96-year-old manager
• Prior to its closure, this was one of the last few remaining cinemas in the world that continued to screen adult films using 35mm film; this was done via a made-in-Italy Cinemaccanica projector
• The cinema’s collection of some 600 erotic and pornographic films, mostly produced between the 1960s and 1980s, have been sent to the archives at the Cinémathèque Royale

The initiative, which is supported by the King Baudouin Foundation, has been covered extensively by the French and Dutch press in Belgium.

For a look inside ABC Cinema, click here or here for video interviews in French and Dutch respectively. De Morgen has some good photos of the place; I would love to get access to photograph ABC Cinema!

As I write, the clock is counting down. According to the Offscreen Facebook page, they have reached the halfway mark, so there’s another 30,000€ to go.

For the next six days, the “Top Posts & Pages” section at the bottom of my blog will show the posts/pages that have received the highest number of views – which means that the post will be featured (since it’s in the number 2 spot). I don’t know if this will help drive any awareness, but every little bit counts!