First Look: Brunswick Picture House Is More Than Just a Movie Theatre

Anyone who’s ever sunk into the cushy armchairs of Thornbury Picture House would know why the independent cinema is so beloved. Filmmaker Gus Berger and his partner Lou Berger have made the single-screen cinema, located in a converted 1920s petrol station, a gathering place for locals, who might drop in for a drink and not even catch a screening.

Now, the Bergers have brought a new theatre to the heart of Brunswick, on Sydney Road. “Lou and I have been living in Brunswick for the last 10 years,” says Gus. “It’s a really diverse, vibrant, eclectic community, and I feel that an independent cinema with creative programming is going to resonate.” 

At Brunswick Picture House, the Bergers aim to host special screenings, DJ sets, live music, Q&As and independent film festivals. On opening weekend, they put on a 100th anniversary screening of Battleship Potemkin, and five-piece jazz ensemble the Sounds of Silent played the score to Charlie Chaplin’s silent romantic comedy The Circus (1928) as the film rolled. “Brunswick has got a very strong music community, so I’m looking forward to building on having that music element in the cinema”, Gus says.

When it comes to programming, the team plans to be flexible, featuring local independent filmmakers alongside blockbuster hits, with a few special events thrown in. “We really want to be that community cinema that appeals to all sorts of people”, Gus says. “We want everyone to feel that there’s something in it for them.” Current programming includes Aussie comedy classic Death in Brunswick (1990) with Sam Neill, a 30th-anniversary screening of Clueless, and new releases Zootopia 2 and A24 comedy Eternity. 

Similar to its Thornbury counterpart, the single-screen Brunswick cinema will have a bar, encouraging you to stay from pre-show drinks to post-film debriefs. Grab a pint from local breweries such as Co-Conspirators, The Mill and Bodriggy, or sip on wines from Fin, Noisy Ritual and Chrismont. The bar team also creates fun, referential cocktails, such as the Rocky Horror-themed Eclectic Bloody Sour With Raspberry Lips, for special screenings. There’ll be ice-cream from Luther’s Scoops and vegan choc-tops. And beyond the usual cinema snacks, patrons can order small plates from neighbouring Lebanese joint Tiba’s, with more local culinary collabs to be announced in the future. 

The retro-style cinema took 18 months to renovate. It’s in a heritage building that Gus – director of The Lost City of Melbourne, a documentary dedicated to the city’s squandered architectural heritage – says stabled the horses that drove the first iterations of our city’s trams in the late 19th century. The cinema is bigger than its Thornbury counterpart, with 80 seats and a 6.5-metre screen. Every row has a twin seat and double steps, making sightlines for captions accessible no matter where you’re seated. Velvet curtains add theatrical flair for live performances and Q&As. “These things all make the cinema feel special, which is important if we’re competing against streaming platforms for people’s time”, Gus says. “If people choose to spend their weekend with us, we really want to look after them.”

The bar, crafted by Julian Beattie, is made of walnut timber with strips of curved brass that Gus says nods to cinema’s Golden Age of cinema “without being too old-fashioned”. A Murano glass chandelier will hang over the bar, with Gus’s personal collection of old film projectors, cameras and film reels also on display. 

Brunswick Picture House
510–512 Sydney Road, Brunswick
No phone

Hours:
Open daily, times vary depending on screenings

@brunswick_picturehouse
brunswickpicturehouse.com.au