Le Champo - Espace Jacques-Tati, Art house cinema in Latin Quarter, Paris, France.
Le Champo is an art house cinema in the Latin Quarter with two screening spaces, one on the ground floor and another below street level. The venue accommodates roughly 236 spectators and regularly presents classic films alongside contemporary productions.
Le Champollion, named after the adjoining street, held its first screening on 22 June 1938 on the site of a former bookshop. Roger Joly took over the following year; after a 1941 projection-cabin fire he installed a periscope-like retro-reflex system above the auditorium, kept until 2012. A second basement screen opened in 1955 in former cabaret premises, and a single entrance was created in the late 1970s. The facade and both auditoriums were listed as monuments historiques on 7 April 2000, saving the cinema from closure plans.
The venue became a gathering place for film directors and cinephiles who viewed cinema as a form of education and artistic development. People came here to discover films that shaped their understanding of the art form.
The cinema is easy to locate on a busy street corner in the neighborhood, making navigation straightforward for first-time visitors. Note that accessibility for people with mobility limitations is restricted in this older venue.
After a 1941 fire in the projection booth, owner Roger Joly installed a retro-reflex periscope system in an apartment above the auditorium, projecting from above the screen via a mirror at the rear. It was the only system of its kind in Europe and stayed in use until 2012.
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