Cinema

If you like to catch a movie and prefer avoiding crappy Hollywood blockbusters you should go to one of the two small alternative art-house cinema’s in Ghent: Studioskoop and Sphinx. They both offer a wide variety of quality movies (alternative as well as some commercial movies). I think the program of Studioskoop is a bit more alternative and eccentric than the one of Sphinx.

The origins of the Sphinx-cinema date back to 1912. There has always been a movie theatre in this buildings ever since. They have 5 screens, all different in size. I like the smallest ones; they’re very intimate and make your movie-experience unique. Afterwards you can discuss your film-experience in the pleasant Sphinx-café while trying out some Belgian beers!

There used to be a time where Ghent was full of small cinema’s, but unfortunately that’s a long time ago. Today Ghent has 3 cinema’s: the commercial complex Kinepolis Gent (former Decascoop) and the small alternative cinema’s Sphinx and Studioskoop.

Studioscoop is located at Sint-Annaplein in the south of Ghent and houses 5 rooms. Don’t expect huge halls, but small cosy rooms. Some of them just look like a living area with a huge screen. No screaming children, no popcorn, no buckets of coke. Just pure cinema as it should be!

Studioscoop plays movies from all over the world, but does not only stick to the alternative cinema. Here you can also found some of the more commercial quality movies, but without the commercial atmosphere of the big chains.

For foreigners the advantage of cinema in Flanders is that all movies are subtitled in Dutch and French. So, you will always see the original version with subtitles. And if you are not feeling like seeing a movie, there’s also a nice bar inside.