How Copenhagen keeps non-mainstream film alive

Copenhagen’s cinema landscape stretches far beyond Hollywood blockbusters and commercial multiplexes. Across the city, smaller cinemas create space for films that might otherwise struggle to find an audience. From restored classics and international arthouse films to documentaries, experimental screenings and cult favourites. Among them are Cinemateket, Grand Teatret and Huset, three cinemas that approach non-mainstream film from very different directions.

Three ways to go non-mainstream

One cinema that has done non-mainstream film for over a century is Grand Teatret. In operation since 1913, it’s one of the oldest cinemas in the city, and sustains itself through ticket sales, a café and restaurant, and its own film distribution arm, Camera Film, which buys the rights to titles for both Grand Teatret and its sister cinema Gloria. 

Not very far from Grand Teatret sits Cinemateket, which runs on a different model. As part of the Danish Film Institute, Cinemateket operates under the Ministry of Culture as a non-profit institution. “The premise of Cinemateket is showing film history, and films from around the world, and also, of course, those that aren't in commercial cinemas,” says Oscar Pedersen, Head of Programming. “We are non-profit, and our duty is to present film history,” he continues. 

Last but not least, Huset Cinema runs in yet another way. It is part of a larger community centre hosting music, theatre, and film activities and events. A volunteer association of around 40 members runs the cinema, and it is financially sustained by ticket sales, food and beverage sales, and a passionate community of filmgoers.

Who decides what deserves the screen?

Selecting which movies to show is undoubtedly a difficult and important part of running any cinema. At Grand Teatret, the programming follows particular directors and seeks out their new work, especially films that appear at international festivals, as well as documentaries and Danish films. “We want, of course, to give the audience something special,” Mette Søgaard, director of film and marketing, says. The cinema’s audience is already used to foreign-language and arthouse films, and film clubs such as Biografklub Danmark play an important role in connecting viewers with less conventional cinema. 

The cinema sees these communities as a way of making unfamiliar films less intimidating. Søgaard points to the success of Joachim Trier’s Sentimental Value, which Biografklub Danmark screened and attracted around 160,000 Danish viewers. “If you can learn to see these films, I think you can teach people also not to be afraid to go to the movie and see a French film or Spanish film,” Søgaard says. The goal is also to develop an audience willing to explore something outside the mainstream.

Cinemateket’s programming combines artistic value, cultural importance, and audience interest. One recent example was a major retrospective of Guadeloupean filmmaker Sarah Maldoror, whose work focuses heavily on anti-colonial history and African and Caribbean writers and poets. The programme is a prime example of Cinemateket’s role in bringing lesser-known film history to Danish audiences. “It’s not going to be the series that sells out every ticket because she’s not that well-known, but that’s a very important part of any museum,” said Oscar Pedersen. “We are a museum, our exhibitions take place on screen, and I consider every screening an exhibition.”

Cinemateket therefore does not judge every programme by ticket sales – some are valued based on their artistic merit, others are more audience-driven. “It’s always a balanced thing,” Pedersen says. “Artistic merit, audience-driven, geographical, and gender balances and all that are, of course, things that we consider for every program.” 

At Huset, programming is mostly community-driven. “It’s really a mix, but the volunteers are heavily involved,” said Bruno Olson, head of the volunteer association. “We kind of like to move in a different path, a lot of cult movies, and a lot of off-the-beat films as well.” The cinema has also worked with embassies from countries including the Czech Republic, Australia, and Mexico, as well as film festivals. One Mexican film programme, for example, focused on Santo, a masked Mexican wrestler who became a cultural icon through a series of films.

What draws in the largest crowds are the monthly screenings of cult classics such as The Room, The Big Lebowski, and The Rocky Horror Picture Show, as well as a monthly “Bad Movie Club” series, which draws in big crowds to watch, as Olsen puts it, “legendarily bad movies.” 

Who fills the seats? 

Copenhagen's appetite for non-mainstream film is real and adventurous. This is clear in the many film clubs around the city. Tusen Sole, one such club, shows films twice a month, moving around from cinema to cinema across the city. “It's always a full house, even if the audience doesn't know the film, which is quite often. They trust the concept so much,” said Pedersen, who ran the club in the past. 

Huset Cinema’s audience is just as devoted. “Bad Movie Club is pretty much the same crowd over and over again. That is a very solid crowd of people with extremely questionable taste that show up,” mentions Olsen. “And when it comes to The Room, we have two dudes, Matthias and Sid. These guys show up almost every screening. I think they've passed like 150 showings now.” 

But of course, an audience can only thrive when the movies they want are actually being shown. “The institutions, including the Cinemateket, have to be really ambitious and serious in nurturing the audience,” says Pedersen. “Because it's easy to say that there is not a niche-oriented audience if we or others don't show the niche.” 

Initiatives to nurture this cinephile audience among younger people are popping up across Denmark. Including the soon-to-be-launched Cineville subscription, a monthly subscription that gives members unlimited access to Grand Teatret and other cinemas nationwide. 

And the reasons for keeping that audience alive go beyond ticket sales. With non-mainstream film, every aspect of the cinema-going experience becomes something you can never replicate anywhere else. “If you go to see 35mm or 60mm cinema, you do know you will not get 4K, extra, fancy, Dolby Atmos, whatever. You will get wear and tear. You will get the lines from all that,” says Bruno Olsen from Huset. “But that tells a story. That kind of tells a story that this movie has been around. It's seen something, something that came to us from somewhere else.”