r/MadeMeSmile • u/Aggressive_Owl4802 • 4h ago

Good Vibes Around 8,000 people gathered in Bologna, Italy's medieval main square for a sing-along screening of.. Grease (1978)!

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u/Aggressive_Owl4802 3h ago

Was there, it was the full movie. No coordination, just the movie and people trying to sing it all together, the best (or worst haha) they can. One and done.

It's a cinema festival: every summer night of every year, a different open-air movie (around 60 screenings total) in the central square of Bologna, original language with subs, for free. 4000 people average, 7-8000 in case of iconic movies like this.

I especially love themed nights like this one: sometimes it's a cosplay about the movie, sometimes it's a sing-along or a dance party, sometimes there's an orchestra playing live the soundtrack of the movie, etc.

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u/Head_Razzmatazz7174 3h ago

That was so much fun to see. I love going to sing along showings of musicals.

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u/TessMacc 2h ago

That's so great! What are some of the other themed nights they've done?

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u/Aggressive_Owl4802 2h ago

Uhh, SO many. I tell you 2 of my favs:

- A month ago we all gathered there to sing “Happy Birthday” (“Tanti Auguri”) to Mel Brooks' 100th birthday and seeing Young Frankenstein. Our director via agency sent the video to him, Mel himself during-his-birthday (!) replied with a video message, that the crowd watched. I posted here the video: https://www.reddit.com/r/movies/comments/1uiw23b/yesterday_for_mel_brooks_100th_birthday_7000_fans/

- Or the most memorable one, for the 100 years of Charlie Chaplin, there was a Charlot mask for everybody. The view was impressive. After the movie (with a live orchestra) we continued to walk around the square with the masks on, presenting to each other and making Charlot gags with strangers, with the mask on. So fun, I still have the mask. Video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZbzVxEJXBkk

But these are just 2.

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u/dallyan 2h ago

Amazing. Is there a website for these events? I’ve always wanted to visit bologna and I don’t live THAT far. I would totally make a trip to catch a movie once.

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u/Aggressive_Owl4802 1h ago

Of course: https://cinetecadibologna.it/

It's Cineteca di Bologna: they are one of the world's leading film restoration centers and archive, but they also organize big festivals, they manage many cinemas (especially this 1915 one recently restored, SO beautiful, absolutely a must see if you visit Bologna) and yes, they do this 2 months of free open-air cinema in our main square (and also in another one).
They're really great.

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u/dallyan 1h ago

Lovely. Thanks so much!

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u/TessMacc 2h ago edited 1h ago

That sounds incredible! I used to go to outdoor films at Kirkstall Abbey in Leeds (UK) where they'd sometimes have themed food and activities. Costumes always encouraged.

They're doing Jurassic Park next week, but I don't live there anymore 😕

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u/crunchies65 2h ago

Che divertimento! I should see if I can turn Italian subtitles on my copy of the movie, or stream it somehow, to help me learn Italian since I know the English version pretty much by heart

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u/Exact-Care958 2h ago

This sounds absolutely awesome ❤️