The Pilton Palais, Glastonbury. I have said it many times before, on here and on the podcast, but Glastonbury is much more than the music. Like any cultural city, it has many forms of entertainment for its citizens. You will find theatre, circus, and poetry, to name a few.
There is also a cinema. This being Glastonbury, it is not just any ordinary cinema. Yes, you will find re-runs of classic films from all eras and movies for the kids, but you will also see World Premiers, Q&As with directors, and talks from Hollywood A-Listers. All in a tent in a field in Somerset. Ladies, Gentlemen, and children, this is The Pilton Palais.
When did the Pilton Palais start at Glastonbury?
The Festival actually had some kind of cinema as early as 1981, but it was pretty low-key. It was either 1982 or 1983 when the Pilton Palais officially started. There was a marquee, though the set-up was still pretty basic.
In 1985, the first major technical upgrade happened when they moved from 16mm to 35mm film. In 1989, they introduced an open-air screen, since the tent’s popularity had outgrown even the biggest marquees.
In 2023, the Pilton Palais celebrated its 40th anniversary, with Bastille’s Dan Smith fronting an intro video for the milestone year.
Who has appeared at the Pilton Palais?
Here are just a few of the people who have appeared on stage at the Pilton Palais:
- Andrew Scott (Q&As for Vanya and All of Us Strangers)
- Paul Mescal and director Andrew Haigh (All of Us Strangers)
- Florence Pugh (Dune Part Two intro)
- Tilda Swinton (Only Lovers Left Alive Q&A, Problemista intro)
- Cate Blanchett (I’m Not There Q&A)
- Edgar Wright and Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead 20th anniversary Q&A)
- Taron Egerton and director Nick Rowland (She Rides Shotgun)
- Ncuti Gatwa (in conversation about The Importance of Being Earnest, with critic Helen O’Hara)
- Andrew Garfield (Q&A for We Live in Time)
- Margot Robbie, Tom Ackerley, Josey McNamara (My Old Ass producers)
- In 2019, Liam Gallagher and Bradley Cooper introduced their own films at the Palais.
- In 2017, Brad Pitt made a surprise appearance for a staged late-night “premiere” of Okja, alongside Tilda Swinton, who co-starred in the film — this is one of the Palais’s most-cited moments, often described as the point it really became a Hollywood draw.
Where is the Pilton Palais at Glastonbury Festival?
The Pilton Palais is located in the Acoustic Field directly opposite the Acoustic Stage.
What films have been shown at the Pilton Palais?
Here are just some of the films they have shown over the years:
- The Iron Giant, Little Shop of Horrors, Kevin & Perry Go Large, The Ballad of Wallis Island, Constantine (intro’d by Tilda Swinton), Barbarella
- Pre-release screenings of Despicable Me 4, Kneecap, Unicorns, Problemista
- A late-night vampire theme running throughout
- 2023 — celebrated Pilton Palais’s 40th anniversary, themed around Comedy, Horror, Music & Dance, TV Preview, Family Movies and Documentary. Highlights included Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit, Puss in Boots: The Last Wish, The Wicker Man, Kevin & Perry Go Large, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, and A Clockwork Orange.
Other Cinemas at Glastonbury Festival
Cineramageddon launched in 2017; it was curated by director Julien Temple, with the drive-in auditorium designed by Joe Rush. (Check out the Podcast where I interview Joe Rush).
Festival-goers watched films while seated in around fifty “mutated vintage American and British cars,” alongside repurposed funfair rides and even a Lear jet — all part of Joe Rush’s post-apocalyptic, junkyard aesthetic that he’s known for through Mutoid Waste Company.
Since Cineramageddon closed, the cars have been reused for CarHenge.
I told you it wasn’t just a tent with a screen in it! A few years ago I was walking past the Pilton Palais at around 10:00, and there were firemen outside it. At first I thought they were part of the nearby Theatre and Circus fields. No, they were genuine fireman who came to put out a small fire in the Pilton Palais. Apparently some equipment caught fire whilst they were showing The Wicker Man on the screen. You couldn’t make it up! Glastonbury has strange powers running through it.
See you on the farm!
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