 •Who
We Are
Detour has been active in the alternative cinematic scene in Rome
for the last 12 years, counting more than 12,000 regular members
in its mailing list. The Cineclub Detour is the result of the
passion for cinema of a group of university students who managed
to develop this project.
Our cineclub aimed all this years to be an alternative screening
spot, a place where one can appreciate the art of independent filmmakers
and share our passion for film. We also presented new cinematic
styles in various film genres. Detour is an open space for creativity
and ideas, our motto is land of no one and land for everyone. We
are open 6 days a week, from Tuesday to Sunday; nine months a year!
It is not by chance that "Detour" is the first entry
to appear on the Italian Google by writing cineclub.
All these years we have maintained an independent free spirit and
a close personal relations with our viewers and collaborators.
Our cineclub is more like a cosy gathering place than the usual
screening hall; we believe that an open dialogue with our audience
is the essential characteristic of our venue: a place where there
are no barriers between the artist and the audience.
Our aim is to bring the viewer a step further in the understanding
of film language and promote the different faces of filmmaking
and cinema.
The cineclub offers concerts and live soundtrack performances of
old masterpieces of cinema, as well as art exhibitions, filmmaking
and cinema critic courses, theatrical plays, readings, books and
magazines presentations, philosophical debates and a lot of fun!
•Our New Venue
Since the hot summer of 2009 Detour moved away from it's priceless
historical location in old beautiful neighbourhood, Rione Monti,
right in the centre of Rome, after we have been kicked out in favour
of a new owner of a local restaurant.
We took the blow with burning
pain, but we became stronger.We created a unique synergy with a
fair trade shop and, at present you can find us in the same colourful
old neighborhood 100 meters up the street, where we have opened
a new venue with an equipped and charming cinema hall. At the entrance,
you will be welcomed by the sweet fragrance of hot chocolate and
tea of the Oasi Urbana, the fair trade shop run by volunteers,
who can offer you exotic and Italian quality organic products.
This is a place where you can relax and have a drink or relish
a natural snack before the film starts.
•Alternative Distribution
We try to give our members an opportunity to see films and audiovisual
works that are not present in conventional cinema halls. Films
which unfortunately do not find distribution for mere market and
political reasons. We show fictions and documentary films with
social value made by young Italian and foreign filmmakers. We strive
to increase the curiosity for old and new audio visual works.
•Let's work together! “if
you build it, they will come”
Cinema clubs always existed since the early years of the cinematic
medium, helping to spread the art of filmmaking, merging cultures
from all parts of the world. Thanks to cinema clubs, cinema, as
a form of art, attained an important position as one of the key
forms of artistic expression in this era.
Unfortunately something got lost on the way with the growth of
the medium: today several cinema clubs, as our old beloved and
nostalgic suburb cinema halls, have closed down, or have been turned
into massive bingo halls, parking lots or multiplex cinemas: gigantic
film supermarkets, with no actual soul, where originality and content
have been superseded by a profit-orientated mentality. Nonetheless,
some cinema clubs (true art houses) survived this type of transformation,
thanks to their capability of renovating and their ability to keep
pace with the mutations and tendencies inside the art of filmmaking,
heeding the thriving spirit of a whole generation. Those cold and
often empty multiplex cinemas will never communicate a feeling
of deep emotion, the real potion that spells us and makes us not
only viewers, but active participants with passion for culture,
as well as socially involved individuals.
In Detour we have noticed with the years a growing tendency in
young independent filmmakers who are neglected by the film market.
Those who are "lucky", or knew how to move well, got
their works screened just for a short period of time in what we
usually consider conventional screening spots. These low budget
movies are sometimes not able to compete with blockbusters. Besides,
major cinema productions are backed up by the money machine of
mass distribution. Albeit many quality films get good feedbacks
in festivals, they are never screened in our cities and often end
up on the shelf of a home or in a video store.
We believe that independent films and documentaries can flourish
mostly in an imaginary green house like cinema, which offers intimacy
to understand the work and a chance to discuss it freely; a place
where there is a positive confrontation between the filmmaker and
the audience.
At the moment, cinema clubs have a beautiful opportunity to lean
on each other as survivors and winners of a real ongoing culture.
This is our call for collaboration to all those players who act
today and are interested in involving others and wish to create
a space for new ideas.
Today we have the means to easily communicate thanks to the Internet
and its innovations: Facebook, My Space, Twitter and many more
precious tools for us to spread our ideas.
We should establish today a low cost network, far from market speculation.
Together we are able to stimulate a real impulse and conciseness
in a world where cinema means authentic creation and information,
criticism, and a call for a social change. We are a voice of freedom,
now we are needed more than ever. So just feel free to contact
us and let’s make a way together, as we are not alone.
We would like very much to expand our circle of experience and
share our experiences with others. We encourage all kinds of collaboration,
so please feel free to contact us for no matter which original
idea you have in mind: screening a film or organizing a gig.
We promise that you will always find a friendly voice on the other
side of the phone and if in you are in Rome, come and pay us a
visit.
Contacts:
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