Something a little different this time -- a building that I've been inside, although the cinema itself closed nearly thirty years ago. This isn't the first time I've come across a closed-down cinema in France, but something about this one grabbed me; with the increasing difficulty of visiting new French cinemas, I've decided that from now on I'll also include an entry for any defunct ones I come across (providing I can grab a photograph).
I chanced upon this cinema during a walking tour around Hesdin, which was an app-based, self-guided affair which is well worth doing should you ever visit the town. Le Familia (capacity: just short of 700) opened between the wars and screened its last film in 1988 -- word has it, it was so popular back in the day that some viewers went as far as reserving their seats for the entire year. Late night skin flicks were a staple at the cinema during the 70s, too. I guess this raging popularity diminished somewhere down the line, hence the late 80s closure -- and the timing seems about right for a cinema to finally succumb to the onslaught of video.
But, and as we all know, moviegoing eventually survived and VHS didn't, and you can't help but feel that Hesdin and its environs could really use a permanent cinema; it's a long drive from here to the nearest one, and although Cinéligue (see post from June 2015) do serve the area, you sense that someone's missing a trick by not running a picture house here. Le Familia had a nice Art Deco exterior, which still survives to an extent -- the upper part of the building certainly hints at its movie palace past. Nowadays a supermarket (once Shopi, now Carrefour) uses the ground floor, as you can see in the below snap I took. You can find the building in Place Garbé, just along from the post office.
