Secret Cinema, the London-based organization that hosts immersive, confidential movie screenings for film buffs, is looking to help refugees cope by setting up a cinema in a camp in Calais.
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Fabien Riggall, the director of Secret Cinema, recently returned from a visit to the Jungle refugee camp in Calais, where he was struck by the refugees's predicament.
“We’re not a humanitarian organization,” he told The Guardian, “but we feel passionate that art can tell the truth, and that having an escape from their predicament through access to culture will offer a break from this constant reality of living in tents.”
Secret Cinema, which Riggall founded in 2007, began as an underground club for film lovers who screened cult and classic movies like Blade Runner and The Red Shoes. Since then, it has expanded, with cities around the world joining in with their own Secret screenings. But the idea behind it remains the same. Film choices are never announced prior to their screening -- participants just have to trust the curators and show up to a secret location without knowing what they're in for.
More recently, the organization has hosted immersive screening events showing The Grand Budapest Hotel and Ghostbusters.
Secret Cinema presents The Grand Budapest Hotel. Last minute reservations from: http://t.co/4NJVthvlGO pic.twitter.com/r7egzQ66n5— secretcinema (@secretcinema) March 31, 2014
Final Christmas tickets for @futurecinema presents Ghostbusters: http://t.co/882FAUu7zU #FCGhostbusters pic.twitter.com/Ns74CUhmsV— secretcinema (@secretcinema) December 16, 2013
Riggall is hoping to do something similar for at the refugee camps in Calais.
"Some have asked why a cinema is needed. We believe that culture gives hope and offers an escape in difficult situations," the organization wrote on its Facebook page.
"We have identified an area in the camp for a cinema and spoke with the different communities at the camp to see which film would work best."
Of course, Riggall is keeping the selection under wraps, but told The Guardian that it would be a Bollywood film.
In addition, Secret Cinema is urging people around the world to join in on hosting "Secret Protest" screenings to raise money and awareness for the refugee crisis.
The protest is gathering pace in over 20 cites worldwide. Join us in solidarity. #LoveRefugees http://t.co/fG6Ov21ZCa pic.twitter.com/uyL1WPJaCA— secretcinema (@secretcinema) September 11, 2015
“It makes you feel sick,” Riggall told The Guardian about the refugee crisis. “You think, I go through Calais on holiday. This is an hour from London, and people are living like this.
"And gatherings like this where people come together for a cause are important."