Foyer Conversations, a new podcast series from Cinema of Commoning, aims to capture the spirit of those probing, freewheeling and inspiring discussions we have immediately before and after a film screening. In our second episode, Foyer Conversations: Occupied Cinemas we bring together three cinemas who, within their own unique national and political contexts, have each found a way to reclaim urban space through cinema.

Salaam Cinema is a community-based cinema and arts project run by a team of artists and creatives and based in Baku, Azerbaijan. This unique building has a remarkable history, having formerly been used as a Molokan temple, a radio station and a teahouse, before being occupied and turned into a culture space. Salaam Cinema is also a Cinema of Commoning 2 partner, and you can read a more in depth interview with Leyli Gafarova about the cinema’s history and mission here.

In 2019, an activist group called Cinéma La Clef Revival Collective began occupying the building of La Clef in Paris, a former independent cinema which had recently been shut down and put up for sale.

The group ran screenings and events from the building for three years, until they were evicted in March 2022. After a long struggle and fundraising effort, La Clef Revival finally raised enough money to buy the cinema in June 2024. Their mission now is to guarantee that La Clef will remain a collectively-run independent movie theatre, protected from real estate speculation and freely run by its members.

Berger Kino in Frankfurt am Main, is a former independent cinema which closed due to bankruptcy in 2020. The building stood empty for years until, in March 2024, it was occupied by a group of feminist and queer activists who wanted to revive the space as an alternative cinema for the local community. The activists are in ongoing negotiations with the building’s owners to reopen the cinema longer term.

For this conversation we are joined by Leyli from Salaam Cinema, Héléna and Thibault from La Clef Revival and Orlando from Berger Kino.

Episode two is now available to listen and download worldwide on Spotify, Deezer, and Podcast Index.

Foyer Conversations is a new podcast series from Cinema of Commoning.

Episode two is initiated and presented by Eirini Fountedaki and Rachel Pronger.

It was produced by Eirini Fountedaki, Gülsen Namıduru, Abisola Oni and Rachel Pronger,

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