It's over twenty years since Matamata residents have had the opportunity to "go to the flicks" in their home town.
In a first for Matamata this week an outdoor cinema will be featuring two of the latest blockbuster films on the largest outdoor screen in the country. Auckland based Openair Cinema and The Shires Rest Cafe have joined forces to present the Golden-Globe winning Avatar this Friday followed by the family hit Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs on Saturday night.
Utilising the natural amphitheatre-like paddock next door to The Shires Rest Cafe on Buckland Road, the 18 metre wide, 11 metre high screen will provide a unique venue to watch the films.
"I am very excited to bring the magic of outdoor film to Matamata and I urge everybody to come and see Avatar under the light of the stars of Pandora", said the owner of Openair Cinema, Urs Bauer. It is a social event and a great opportunity for Waikato locals to see two great films. Just bring along a bean-bag, chair or rug and relax in the warm summer air, Urs said.
We started operating in Summer 2003/4 at the Viaduct Harbour in Auckland City and since then our mobile unit has travelled up and down the country with screenings from the Bay of Islands to Queenstown. We have hosted many New Zealand premieres of international films at different locations. Our biggest event was a viewing of King Kong in 2006 to over 1200 people.
The Openair cinema is very popular in Auckland and we are running the 'Movies in Parks' for Auckland City and 'Movies by Moonlight' for North Shore City.
The quality of the film is excellent, it is true 35mm. We have yet, however, to develop our system for 3-D.
As part of the event, The Shires Rest Cafe will be open for meals before the films start at 8-30pm. A special cinema buffet dinner will be available along with favourites from the blackboard menu.
No visit to the movies would be complete without jaffas, ice-cream and popcorn, so the Shires Rest team will be operating a special booth at the venue offering these items along with smoothies, beer, wine, soft-drink and many other confectionary items.
The event is sure to be popular so it is recommended that movie-goers plan to arrive well before the films commence. Tickets are purchased at the gate and are cash only (no Eftpos available).
