Kino Cafe Mozi

Situated in the 13th District of Budapest, the Kino Café Mozi (“Cinema”) was first mentioned in the Budapest Address and Apartment Directory in 1910 as the Lipótváros Mozgó. However, the following year it was listed as the Elite Cinema. There were 300 seats, and an orchestra accompanied the silent films.

Sound equipment was installed in 1930. On 30 July 1942 it became a children’s cinema, the Mesevar (“Fairytale”), but it closed after being badly damaged by a bomb. When it re-opened, in August 1946, it reverted to its more general programming, once again as the Elite Cinema.

After the communist takeover, cinemas were nationalised, and, on 1 April 1951, those in the capital were taken over by Budapest City Council. On 18th October 1951 the Elite Cinema was renamed the Council Cinema.

The cinema was renovated in 1959 and then again in 1978. Following a change in regime, the Council Cinema showed its final film on 20th August 1990, before closing and being converted into two screens.

The cinema re-opened on 8th December 1990 as the Szindbád, named after the celebrated 1971 drama directed by Zoltán Huszárik. One of the screens was named after actor Zoltán Latinovits and the other after actress Margit Dayka, and the café was added.

The cinema operated as the Szindbád until 2008, when it appears to have positioned itself as a cultural centre, possibly known as the Kino.

It closed on 1st December 2012, re-opening as Kino Café Mozi, mainly as a “school cinema” and with film club screenings, but then became a full-time ‘art-house’ cinema from 1st October 2015.

Digital projection was installed in May 2016.

Screen 1 has 90 seats, while Screen 2 has 32.

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