Varšavska 3
Cinema Europa is an iconic cinema in Zagreb and a protected cultural heritage site of the Republic of Croatia. This year it celebrated its important birthday – the 90th anniversary of its opening!
It was commissioned by the wealthy Zagreb-based Müller family and built by architect Srećko Florschütz in 1924/25. The goal was to make the most beautiful, important and modern movie cinema in this region. These eventful seven decades have seen the changing of street names and political and economic systems but the cinema has maintained its original use. Film lovers, devotees and passers-by come here to relax, escape reality and enjoy in good films.
Another important fact is that Europa Cinema is also the oldest cinema in Zagreb with a continuous fixed use since its opening. This continuity was almost broken in the recent turbulent history: in 2006 the cinema was threatened to close and be put to a different use, the fate that doomed on most other urban cinemas. However, the action ‘Gimme Cinema!’, organised by Zagreb Film Festival and Croatian Film Clubs’ Association, stopped the closing and launched a discussion in the public about acknowledging the importance of a Croatian network of cinemas, with a special accent on non-commercial films. As a result, the city government made a pivotal move: the City purchased the cinema building.
In early 2008, Zagreb Film Festival Art Association was entrusted with the managing of the Cinema. Ever since, Europa Cinema has been the hub of contemporary international and national independent and non-commercial film. Its regular listings screen around 40 independent contemporary films all 365 days in a year from all four corners of the world and of all genres – feature, short, fiction, animated, documentary, experimental, children’s and other.
Varšavska 3 houses almost 20 Croatian film festivals and events, annually we host around 30 film premieres of all genres, with a special focus on children and quality films intended for pre-school and elementary school children.