Eating roti in the cinema and being open to surprises: your cinema horrors and film festival tips

People talking during the film – there’s little more irritating than that. At least, if the responses to EM’s call for cinema annoyances, on the eve of the International Film Festival Rotterdam, are anything to go by.

Imagine sitting in the cinema, and the person next to you pulls out a box of roti. It happened to one of our readers. “When I looked at him and was about to wish him bon appétit, he may have thought I was about to reprimand him, because he slid down to the end of the row”, the staff member writes. “My least annoying cinema gripe.”

Talking and eating – especially when others are doing it – are the biggest sources of frustration for our readers. “Taking phone calls in the cinema”, one student replies on Instagram. “Talking in the middle of the movie”, says another. Other complaints include ‘chewing loudly’, ‘the smell of popcorn’, and ‘rustling wrappers’.

Hidden gem

Despite these annoyances and the popularity of streaming services, our Instagram followers still prefer going to the cinema. “Because of the popcorn and the vibe”, says one reader. The favourite cinema is Pathé, though Kino and Cinerama are also popular.

This Thursday marks the start of the International Film Festival Rotterdam. A few films our readers are looking forward to: Hard Truths, All We Imagine as Light, I’m Still Here, and The Brutalist.

Perhaps the most important tip for the coming week comes from another student: “Book early. Sometimes you blink, and the most interesting films are already sold out. At the same time, be open-minded. Sometimes, the film that seems least appealing turns out to be a hidden gem.”