Royal Square to be transformed into outdoor cinema

Tuesday 18 September 2018

For one night, but possibly not one night only, the Royal Square will be transformed into a free outdoor cinema thanks to the efforts of a local DJ.

Music and movie enthusiast Stefan Rousseau, and the Parish of St. Helier, have teamed up In a bid to give Jersey its first community cinema, with the initial screening scheduled for this Friday.

At no cost, islanders will be able to watch Harrison Ford on the 240-inch screen set up against the United Club as he embodies hero Indiana Jones.

Stefan - known by many as DJ Stef or CineStef - bought the equipment, which comes with a projector and weighs over 120 kilos, a couple of years ago. He previously used it in 2016 at the Weighbridge as part of the French Film Festival with the Alliance Française.

The DJ, who has been serenading shoppers in town all summer as part of the Funky Fridays and the island as a whole for over four years, says he always had big plans for his big screen. However, the project of a community cinema took a long time to get off the ground.

"I have been trying to do something like that for a while," Stefan told Express. "Outdoor cinemas are exploding everywhere in many other cities. I wanted to have one in Jersey to bring some life to the centre and also get people to do something a bit different. I want to do one to show people what is like and hopefully convince sponsors to support us."

Stefan luckily found an ally in the Parish of St. Helier, who shared his hopes of a community cinema in town. Daphne East, the Town Manager, said they were excited about the event.

She explained: "The Parish has been hoping to run this type of event for a while as it enhances the night time economy and brings a fantastic community spirit to the town centre.

"We hope to find a sponsor to support this event so we can make it a regular feature for next summer. Community cinema is an exploding trend in the U.K. and Europe and we hope to add Jersey to this list."

VIdeo: 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark' will be the first movie shown as part of St. Helier Community Cinema.

For this first screening, the organisers chose 1980s classic 'Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark'. "Many people have seen it but I don't think many have seen it on a big screen. I think it would be a great opportunity for people to bring their kids too," Stefan explains.

While this first screening comes a bit late in the summer, Stefan hopes that it will be be followed by many more next year. Next year, Stefan promises to keep showing PG and U-rated movies, to make sure islanders both young and old can join in the fun.

"We want to show movies for a wide audience but also things that are a little bit difference. For example, next year because it's the 35th anniversary of Ghostbusters we want to have the local Ghostbusters cosplay team there to maybe do something in 4D.

"We are thinking of 'E.T.' as well, but we don't want to do just blockbusters. We could maybe show the less-known Pixar movies. We could have one evening for children and others for the parents."

Pictured: Stefan Rousseau has been working as a DJ for the past four years. He also runs movie classes and screenings.

Before the movie starts, John Vibert, a media teacher at JCG and Victoria College, will show a small collection of video clips produced by A-level students. Mike Dean, of the award-winning podcast 'We're Drunk and We Know Things', will be introducing the movie. 

Islanders are invited to arrive at 19:00 and to bring their own chairs and covers in case the evening gets cold. While there will be a limited amount of seats, visitors are invited to bring their own as well as some covers to fend off September's chilly breeze.

If the weather looks too gloomy or too chilly, cinema-lovers will be able to find shelter in the Assembly Room at the Town Hall, although Stefan is keeping his fingers crossed for good weather.

"It would be a shame for the first time if we had to do this, but at least we have a fall-back solution," says Stefan. "The more people come this Friday the more chances we have to be able to do it again. I really hope people bring their families and friends for a nice evening!"