Movies under the stars: park up and tune in at a drive-in cinema set to open in Sharjah

Adrive-in cinema will open in Sharjah on Wednesday, July 1, screening nightly movies for free on a first-come, first-served basis. The cinema will be housed in Madar at Aljada, the emirate’s new 2.2-square-kilometre entertainment complex in its Muwaileh district.

The family-friendly destination opened in February, and contains a number of attractions, including an amphitheatre, a children’s adventure zone and a skate park.

Movie Nights at Aljada will screen films every day at 8pm. Visitors to the permanent cinema, which has a capacity of 150 vehicles, will be allocated specific parking spaces and will be able to access the sound of the movie via FM radio.

This means cars will need to run throughout the film, also to keep their air conditioning running, as there is no centralised unit.

And if you get peckish mid-movie, visitors have the choice of 17 different types of cuisine located nearby at Zad at Aljada, the development’s food district. Orders can be placed from the car, and meals will be delivered “in a contactless and safe manner”.

During the screening, guests will not be allowed to leave their vehicles, unless they need to visit the restroom, in which case they will need to notify a member of the security team.

The full schedule of films will be uploaded onto the Aljada website before the launch date, as well as its various social media channels.

The cinema is in collaboration with Dubai’s Urban Entertainment, which is behind a number of outdoor cinemas in the UAE. This is their first drive-in cinema concept in the country, however.

Michael Hayes, the company’s chief executive, told The

National last week that the Sharjah concept had been in the pipeline prior to the pandemic. The project will be followed by drive-in cinemas in Ras Al Khaimah and Dubai. Ahmed Alkhoshaibi, chief executive of Arada, says the pandemic had “forced us to rethink our approach” at Madar at Aljada in “a number of ways”.

After the site welcomed more than 60,000 visitors in March, it was forced to suspend activities. “In addition, we realised we could not screen outdoor films in the way we had originally intended, so we began discussions with Urban Entertainment at the end of March with a view to launching a drive-in cinema,” he says. Alkhoshaibi says the films will include a mix of family-friendly regional favourites and international blockbusters.

“However, in line with Sharjah’s long association with culture and the arts, we also hope to showcase the talent of local filmmakers at special screenings and potentially even short film festivals.”

Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, chairman of Arada, says: “Movie Nights at Aljada is a significant addition to the list of attractions on offer at Madar at Aljada, and it is also

Movie Nights at Aljada will screen every day at 8pm and will fill on firstcome first-served basis