In the Smichov distillery, there will be an outdoor cinema before its demolition

Prague – Before the planned demolition of the Smíchov distillery, people can come to watch a film in its premises. The summer cinema will be run by the nearby MeetFactory. In addition to the traditional middle of the week, when films have been screened at MeetFactory during the summer for several years, Mondays will also feature screenings on one of the distillery's walls. A bar will provide refreshments, including specialties inspired by the distillery's past, said MeetFactory spokeswoman Zuzana Kolouchová today.

The MeetFactory summer cinema initially screened films in the yard under the highway, then moved to the white wall of the Kostka Gallery, and this year, at least for a few weeks, it adds screenings on the wall of the building where vinegar was still produced in the 1950s.

Pavel Sladký, the project dramaturg and collaborator of Czech Radio Vltava, is co-preparing the program with MeetFactory theater dramaturg Matěj Samec. After themes of ecology and family last year, he selected music and film this year.

"This year's selection of films connects work with music. Some films represent the absolutely essential role that the soundtrack has for auteur personalities such as Aki Kaurismäki and Quentin Tarantino. Other films, such as the fascinating German post-war identity drama Phoenix or the sarcastic Romanian tragicomedy The Treasure, embody their meaning in a specific adopted song," said Sladký.

Entrance to all screenings and the distillery area is free. The program depends on the weather changes.

At the site of the former Smíchov distillery, the construction of three residential blocks is planned. Buildings up to 12 above-ground floors with 499 apartments and underground garages will be built in the area. In addition to hundreds of apartments, the investor plans to place commercial spaces on the ground floor, and the plan also includes the construction of a kindergarten. A street and a road should connect Nádrží and Strakonická streets.

Part of the project includes the preservation of the chimney and the reconstruction of the monumentally protected former brewhouse, while the rest of the buildings will be demolished. The oldest buildings in the area date back to 1836, and in 1880 a distillery and potash factory was established in them. The distillery was reconstructed in 1907, from which the current form of the central building of the complex - the alcohol refinery - originates. In 1957, a part of the already non-functional potash factory was converted into a vinegar factory. Production of alcohol and vinegar ended in 2001, and since then the distillery has been unused. In 2013, part of the distillery collapsed.