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Simona Peneva

Open-air cinemas are some of the most typical summer attractions of Athens. The newest of them is "Votsalakia" and it is literally located about twenty metres away from the beach in Piraeus. "What brings success to us is the good location. We are right next to the beach and many people like this because they can enjoy the view," said one of the owners. The fact that an open-air cinema has been finally opened in the neighbourhood after so much time contributes to its success too. "I did not expect it to have so many customers in the first month. We opened the cinema in late July and now, in the middle of August when the majority of people are on holiday outside Athens, there are so many customers," said the owner.

The cinema is very attractive in the summer evenings because its visitors can have a drink at the bar that is located on the beach, and even spend the day on the beach and enjoy a film at the cinema in the evening. The films that have been shown so far are foreign. "The cinema shows the latest productions like closed cinemas. We have not yet shown Greek films but this does not depend on us. We do not select the films," said one of the owners of "Votsalakia" cinema.

This open-air cinema opened in a crisis period for this business when the others are struggling not to be closed. "We have no strategy at present. The fact that the Piraeus neighbourhood had been deprived of an open-air cinema for six years and that we had the opportunity to open one right by the sea helped us a lot. Of course, we, the initiators, have been living and working here for years. We like and love both Piraeus and our job. I believe we will continue without problems," said the owner.

According to him, the people were eager to have the opportunity to visit an open-air cinema in their neighbourhood and they committed to offer it to them. Competition is not great because it is the only open-air cinema in Piraeus. It was opened on 27 July, and the initiative for its opening is private, in cooperation with the municipality of Piraeus. Six years ago, the last open-air cinema in one of the greatest neighbourhoods in Athens was closed and its residents were deprived of the privilege of having such an attraction nearby.

The owners of "Votsalakia" cinema however believe that there surely must be an open-air cinema in a neighbourhood like this. That is why they did not give up on their idea and after two years of many difficulties and obstacles, they managed to obtain permission from the municipality of Piraeus and to create the first open-air cinema overlooking the sea.

The cinema shows its visitors the latest films every day at nine and eleven o'clock. They change every week and the list is updated. The cost is seven euro and there is a discount for students, the unemployed, large families and other social groups for which the ticket costs five euro. It is the same every Tuesday and Wednesday. The cinema has 325 seats, 25 of which are on a balcony on the second floor from where the view to the blue sea is even clearer.

"Votsalakia" open-air cinema in cooperation with "Schion" theatre is planning to show children's films in September. "We hope more people will visit us in the future and that the good name of the cinema will be kept. We also hope that our customers will be satisfied and will come back to us," said the owner of "Votsalakia" open-air cinema.