Movies and Martinis, A Movement

Many of us have realized that for some movies, Sprite and popcorn aren’t quite enough. You need gin and vodka and a crowded room of unruly bodies who shout when they’re not supposed to, or, in the case of a recent SF360 Film+Club night featuring the traveling R. Kelly “Trapped in the Closet” singalong, belt it out where it might be ill-advised, and dance-along, too, when the opportunity presents itself. SF360 Film+Club nights at the Mezzanine — coming around again this Tuesday, June 19, with a screening of the Aussie “Macbeth” from the director of “Romper Stomper” — are part of a large spectrum of bar/club/café movie nights or multimedia presentations happening around the City. From the El Rio: Your Dive in the outer Mission, where an outdoor screen and BBQ accompany the films of the MadCat Women’s International Film Festival every year, as well as a few during the SF International and other festivals, to the Edinburgh Castle Pub (and Theatre!), which has been home base to experimental film nights for a variety of up-and-coming underground media stars…

…to the Bambuddha Lounge, which plays host this Saturday to the Black Sundance and Music ‘n Film Conference afterparty, to biker bar Zeigeist on Valencia, which presents its very own international film festival, to the Velo Rouge Cafe, the other kind of “biker” bar, where bicycle movies have found a niche, there’s a growing movement to expand movie-watching venues in the multiplex/home-theater era. What follows are a list of 10 places where you can begin matching the right movie with the right demographic and the ideal drink. If they’re off-schedule at the moment, check back and find out when they might offer films again.

1. El Rio
2. Edinburgh Castle Pub and Theatre
3. Bambuddha Lounge
4. Mezzanine
5. Bimbo’s 365 Club
6. Zeitgeist
7. Foreign Cinema
8. 111 Minna
9. Madrone
10. Velo Rouge Cafe