Cinema Capitole

Cinema Capitole was an independent village cinema in the centre of Aalter, in the province of East Flanders, Belgium. It was one of the last remaining independent village cinemas in Flanders. The cinema was built on the initiative of the Maes family from Ruiselede, and its first film, 'The King and I' starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr, was screened on 23 October 1957, one year after construction began. The venue originally seated 609 people. In 2008, Jean-Claude Maes (not a relative of the original founder Maes) took over the operation of Cinema Capitole. Under his management, the 364-seat auditorium (reduced from the original 609 seats) was fully renovated and equipped with a Dolby Surround sound system, digital projection and a 60 m² screen. After the renovation, the cinema adopted an original decor with a chandelier, a stage and a cinema curtain. It was said that no other Belgian cinema offered as much legroom. The renovated auditorium reopened on 15 December 2008 with the national avant-premiere of 'Christmas in Paris'. The success of Flemish films and family films at Cinema Capitole gave film distributors confidence, making it easier to screen new films shortly after their release. In 2011, Jean-Claude Maes received the annual Groene Pluim (Green Feather) award from Groen! Aalter for putting film back on the map in Aalter and building an attractive programme. He made cinema accessible to everyone by charging a low rate and organising extra screenings for people in poverty. The doors of Cinema Capitole closed permanently in 2017, after operator Jean-Claude Maes and the building's owner failed to reach an agreement on new rental terms. The cinema is now defunct. Its former website domain, cinemacapitole.be, has since been repurposed as a French-language general-interest web magazine unrelated to the cinema's original operations.

Cinema Capitole was an independent village cinema in the centre of Aalter, in East Flanders, Belgium. It was one of the last remaining independent village cinemas in Flanders. Before World War II, a small cinema tent occasionally appeared in Aalter, but the real cinema came only after the liberation in 1944. The first film screenings in the Patronaatszaal were mainly intended for Allied soldiers stationed in Aalter. Aalter developed a taste for film, and even after the soldiers left, films were regularly shown, sometimes in the Patronaatszaal and sometimes in the hall of the Kristen Volkshuis on the Markt. These screenings were so successful that anyone not present in time could no longer find a seat. Every screening began with newsreels. The first images shown included the liberation of the concentration camps: emaciated bodies, piles of corpses. The raw reality of the Nazi regime was shown visually. The parish clergy panicked; a cinema hall outside their control was unacceptable. E.H. Van Impe, a young and very dynamic curate, went around soliciting contributions from all who cared about the piety and moral purity of Aalter. The oldest Patronaatszaal was quickly converted into a cinema hall. The very first film shown was 'The Fighting Sullivans' (Dutch title: 'Ik had vijf zonen'), a war film praising the five brothers who fought in the American army and all five died. Successful films from the early years included 'Boys Town', 'Girls Town', Tarzan films, 'Pater Damiaan' and 'Bernadette Soubirous'. Censors were typical of the time. The Catholic Film League rated every film, and the rating was printed in the Catholic newspaper. Categories included: for all, children not admitted, strict reservation, to be avoided and discouraged. In the Pax (meeting hall), children were always admitted, and local censors took care of that. On Saturday afternoons, the film was viewed by a few people. On the advice of those censors, the film was cut and pasted until every film was suitable for children. Cinema Capitole was built on the initiative of the Maes family from Ruiselede. One year after construction began, on 23 October 1957, the first film was screened: 'The King and I' with Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr. The cinema originally had 609 seats. In 2008, Jean-Claude Maes (not a relative of the original founder Maes) took over the operation of Cinema Capitole. Under this film enthusiast, the 364-seat auditorium (reduced from the original 609 seats) was fully renovated and equipped with a Dolby Surround sound system, digital projection and a 60 m² screen. After the renovation, an original decor was chosen with a chandelier, a stage and a cinema curtain. No other Belgian cinema offered as much legroom. The renovated auditorium reopened on 15 December 2008, when 'Christmas in Paris' had its national avant-premiere at Cinema Capitole. The success of Flemish films and family films at Cinema Capitole gave film distributors confidence, making it increasingly easy to screen new films shortly after release. In 2011, Jean-Claude Maes received the annual Groene Pluim (Green Feather) awarded by Groen! Aalter. He received this award for putting film back on the map in Aalter and for building an attractive programme. He made film accessible to everyone by charging a low rate and by organising extra screenings for people in poverty. The doors of Cinema Capitole closed permanently in 2017. This happened after operator Jean-Claude Maes and the building's owner failed to reach an agreement on new rental terms. The cinema is now defunct.

• 2017

  Cinema Capitole closes permanently after failure to agree on new rental terms.

• 2011

  Jean-Claude Maes receives the Groene Pluim award from Groen! Aalter.

• 2008

  Jean-Claude Maes takes over operation; auditorium renovated to 364 seats with Dolby Surround, digital projection and 60 m² screen; reopened on 15 December with 'Christmas in Paris'.

• 1957

  Cinema Capitole built on the initiative of the Maes family; first film 'The King and I' screened on 23 October.

• 1944

  First film screenings in the Patronaatszaal after the liberation, mainly for Allied soldiers.

Independent village cinema offering affordable, accessible film screenings for the local community.

• Film screenings

  Regular screenings of Flemish films, family films and international releases, including avant-premieres.

1. 1Cinema Capitolenl.wikipedia.org
2. 2Cinema Capitolewikidata.org
3. 3Cinéma Capitole : Le webmag qui célèbre les écranscinemacapitole.be
4. 4Comprendre l'histoire : dans quel ordre regarder les films Harry Pottercinemacapitole.be
5. 5Le prof dans Blanche Neige et l'importance de l'éducation morale dans les histoirescinemacapitole.be
6. 6Renne Père Noël : histoires à raconter au coin du feu la veille de Noëlcinemacapitole.be