The hyper-popular American fad of the 1950s returns to the Balkans, with the opening of the first Drive-In Cinema in Tirana.  

A bit of history

What is a drive-in and why is it making a comeback, some of you may ask. Like many experiences that combine entertainment and comfort, the drive-in originated in the United States, on June 6^th, 1933 to be exact. The “father” of this pleasant activity was Richard Hollingshead.

Young Richard worked for his father’s business, an auto parts company, when he came up with the groundbreaking idea. The situation that gave rise to this epiphany was his mother’s inability, as a heavy woman, to enjoy a movie in the small theater seats. In order to make her happy, he took his car, a Kodak projector, and two sheets which he tied to the trees of his yard in order to create the makeshift screen. 

The Drive-In in Tirana

What started as a home project, turned into a nearly century-old tradition in the U.S. The mastermind behind the Tirana drive-in, Arbër Minxhozi, tells us that it was precisely during a trip to the U.S. that he had the first inkling of bringing this experience to Albania: “If we only had something like this in Albania,” he remembers thinking. A collaboration between Digitalb and the Tirana Municipality enabled the realization of Arbri’s idea.

Entertainment for all seasons

The organizers of the Tirana drive-in have thought of every detail in order to bring the full experience to the public. For instance, in order to listen to the movie, the viewer won’t have to roll down the windows, but simply tune in to 95.1 MHZ FM. In addition, beverages, including raki and wine, and snacks will be available on-site to make the experience perfectly Albanian.  

Program & Schedule

The program is created each week by 8 people, each corresponding to a day of the week (plus Nina who composes the weekly schedule). They all decide on a theme for that particular week. Cinema enthusiasts may choose between two movies and two showtimes (18: 30 and 21:30) daily. For instance, Mondays belong to Ben and, to start off this wonderful adventure, he has picked some famous characters from ‘70s American mafia.

For more details and updates, follow them on Instagram @driveincinema. Enjoy the show!

Location

We know you already can’t wait to try this out! The Drive-In Cinema is located in Jordan Misja Street, Petrela market, next to the New Boulevard. The tickets cost from 700 to 1000 ALL for each car accommodating 4 or 5 friends. Nothing more ideal than this setup!