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Rather than simply functioning as venues to screen films, these spaces across Bengaluru are reimagining what it means to experience cinema today. They restore a sense of intention and togetherness, inviting audiences to slow down and watch films collectively — with attention, care, and presence. Across these venues, independent film clubs and screening collectives are curating programmes that champion overlooked films, world cinema, experimental narratives, and unconventional storytelling that rarely find space in commercial theatres or algorithm-driven platforms.
What truly sets these alternate film spaces apart is their emphasis on dialogue. Screenings often continue beyond the credits, opening into conversations where viewers unpack themes, and personal responses, allowing multiple interpretations to exist side by side. In fostering these exchanges, these spaces build communities rather than just audiences. Quietly but steadily, they are reshaping film culture — reminding us that cinema, at its best, is a communal ritual rooted in shared feeling, participation, and collective presence, rather than content to be consumed and forgotten.
Cinema Next Door is a Bengaluru-based film screening initiative that brings cinema back to its most intimate, neighbourhood-like form. Hosted at the Underline Center, a community centre in Indiranagar, it curates weekly screenings that move fluidly between cult favourites, international classics, animated gems, and quietly powerful contemporary films. The experience is deliberately simple: watch a film in a room full of strangers who, by the end, feel like co-viewers your co-viewers.
Each month revolves around a central theme: January’s, Through the Eyes of a Child, featured a line-up ranging from Shrek and Pan’s Labyrinth to The Spirit of the Beehive and I Wish. A season-pass model makes regular viewing accessible and encourages repeat attendance, slowly building a loyal, engaged community. More than just a screening space, Cinema Next Door aims to function like a neighbourhood film club.
Founded by a group of passionate film lovers, The Parallel Cinema Club (TPCC) curates regular screenings of films often overlooked by commercial circuits. Its selections span international classics, experimental works, and hidden gems across eras and cultures, offering audiences a chance to encounter cinema beyond mainstream narratives.
Each screening is usually followed by an open discussion where attendees share interpretations and personal reactions, sometimes guided by guest speakers or club members themselves. This blend of collective viewing and conversation transforms every meet-up into an immersive, reflective experience, deepening appreciation for cinema as an art form. While rooted in Bengaluru, with events also hosted in Hyderabad, TPCC’s community extends online through platforms like Instagram and WhatsApp, connecting a growing network of cinephiles eager to explore film together.
You can learn more about them on Instagram here.
Bangalore Film Forum is an arthouse film club and cinematic community dedicated to celebrating cinema as art rather than mere entertainment. Based in Bengaluru, it curates screenings of contemporary world cinema, independent films, foreign-language favourites, and enduring classics that might otherwise go unseen in commercial theatres.
What distinguishes the Forum is its focus on engagement. Screenings are often paired with discussions that encourage viewers to engage deeply with film language, and forms, moving beyond passive consumption. In doing so, the Forum nurtures a community of cinephiles who see cinema as a cultural, artistic, and shared experience — one that invites reflection, and connection long after the lights come back on.
You can learn more about them on Instagram here.
