Paramount is a boutique art house cinema located in Wellington, New Zealand. They offer venue rental for various celebrations and host live events. They also provide weekly email updates with the latest movie news and screening times.
Products and specialities
Cinema, art house, festival, film
Hours
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The Paramount’s a great spot to catch a foreign or art house film, especially during the upcoming New Zealand Film Festival, where (together with the Embassy) it plays host to much of the programme. The cafe upstairs is quite good, too – there’s a surprising array of reading material (the New Yorker, in fact) and its being away from the street means it’s a nice, private nook to wile away time before your screening starts. For something more substantial pre-movie, though, you could always pop along to the always-excellent Sweet Mother’s Kitchen (though be sure to allow plenty of time; service can take a while!).
The Paramount's a great spot to catch a foreign or art house film, but the cafe upstairs is quite good, too – I never think of it when I'm in the mood for a coffee along Courtenay Place but there's a surprising array of reading material (the New Yorker, in fact) and its being away from the street means it's a nice, private nook to wile away an hour or so.
A steadfast fixture on the Wellington cinema landscape, surrounded on almost all sides by bigger, more commercial cinemas, this pokey fighter in the centre of Courtney Place is always the secret, true heart of the film festival, and is home to the weekly Film Society which every true Wellington Cineast should be a member of.
Every friday night at the Paramount cinema, hip, young, local improv company Playshop take over one of the Paramount’s small round-the-back cinemas and fill it with an hour of hilarity. It’s always funny and lively, and because its improv it’s a new show every week. It’s a great way to start a fun night on the town.
Immerse yourself in a bit of culture. Head on down to one of the participating cinemas in town for the annual New Zealand Film Festival, which showcases some of the best independent documentaries and movies this year. A must-not-miss. Pop along to one of the day time sessions at the Paramount on Courtenay for just $14, and enjoy some post-movie sun on one of the sunniest balconies in the city. Currently serving delicious, fruity mulled wine, if you happen to attend on a not so sunny day.
A weekly frequenter of Paramount as a card-carrying member of the Wellington Film Society, my visits to the cinema could easily end there if only the Paramount wasn't so darn charming. Besides the spacious (and eponymous) main screen, two smaller theaters feature a cosier atmosphere (couches in the Brooks!) With a different film festival on practically every week, you won't feel like you have to wait all year for the NZFF here. Come for a foreign or indie film you can't find anywhere else, but don't leave without a choc dipped Kapiti cone... I hear they hired the choc top king!