Kicking off the final month of its 12th season, the Galileo Open Air Cinema adventures to thrilling new heights and faraway places while tugging on heartstrings and vocal chords this week. Presenting a rollercoaster line-up, the Galileo team offers you the perfect setting for a unique outdoor experience – no matter the occasion.
An evening of delight awaits, so book your spot here.
Also read: Here’s what’s on The Galileo Open Air Cinema’s screen this month
Here’s what’s on the silver screen this week:
3 April: Brit Rock
Five of the UK’s top climbing and adventure films capture hardcore action, pioneering spirit and some proper madness all in one evening.
Goddess of Craic | 27 minutes
This film tells the story of rising trad star Freja Shannon. We join half-Swedish, half-Irish Freja in her ancestral homelands as she pursues her climbing goals for the season – ‘Sista Bossen’ E8 6c at the world-class granite climbing area of Bohuslan, Sweden and Snell’s Law E7 6c at the Burren on the west coast of Ireland.
The film also delves into Freja’s past, where we learn of her less-than-glamorous journey to becoming a professional climber – and how she overcame her inner doubts to break through as a leading female trad climber and alpinist.
Shining Stones | 25 minutes
Climber Robbie Phillips chances upon a little-known mountain in the very far north of Scotland while driving from east coast to west.
After some research, Robbie discovers the mountain is called Ben Loyal and that climbing legend Simon Nadin has been developing a couple of lines at the Crag. Simon tells him that there is something very special up there… What Robbie finds at Ben Loyal is off the scale: endless bouldering, highballs, countless quality granite tors and buttresses with untapped climbing potential.
But all this pales into insignificance compared with the main face, which holds the future of trad climbing on what is surely one of Britain’s greatest cliffs.
Helmcken Falls | 15 minutes
Emma Powell and Neil Gresham join the original pioneers of this unique ice climbing venue in British Columbia, as Tim Emmet and Klemen ‘Klem’ Premrl once again push the boundaries of steep, sporty ice.
After years of teasing, Tim finally invites his life-long friend Neil Gresham, along with top mixed climber Emma Powell, to stoke up their pioneering spirit and develop some new lines at this surreal venue.
Hard Git | 25 minutes
Controversial and never far from the news; climber Matt Wright goes trailblazing across the UK, making wild first ascents, hard solos and bold new lines. Loveable rogue and working-class hero Matt puts his money where his mouth is in this Tour-de-France of hard climbing.
After weighing up his time-verses-routes equation, Matt abandons an attempt of the infamous Rhapsody (E11) and sets off on a quest to climb new inspiring lines. He does not disappoint, with his energetic journey culminating in the first ascent of ‘Magical Thinking’ E10 7a – a heart-stoppingly dangerous route at Pavey Ark, Lake District.
Head Jam
Filmmaker Alastair Lee turns the camera on himself in this deep, introspective story of triumph through adversity. Perceived as a successful man with the perfect life, Al experiences unexpectedly dark times.
Fearing he will lose everything, we watch a man on the brink claw his way out of despair, using climbing and training to find peace and salvation. Having never been the greatest of climbers, Al demolishes his inner punter – attempting to fulfil his potential by setting his sights on routes he’s spent 30 years avoiding.
- Day: Wednesday
- Location: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
- Time: Gates open at 6pm, and the movie starts at 7:30pm
- Genre: Adventure / Climbing
- Age restriction: TBC
- Tickets: Webtickets
4 April: The Horse Whisperer
The Horse Whisperer is a 1998 American Western drama film directed by and starring Robert Redford, based on the 1995 novel The Horse Whisperer by Nicholas Evans.
Redford plays the title role, a talented trainer with a remarkable gift for understanding horses who is hired to help a traumatised girl (played by Scarlett Johansson) and her horse back to health following a tragic accident.
- Day: Thursday
- Location: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
- Time: Gates open at 6pm, and the movie starts at 7:30pm
- Genre: Western / Drama
- Age restriction: A
- Tickets: Webtickets
5 April: Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny is a 2023 American action-adventure film.
Set in 1969, this rendition sees Indiana Jones, thinking his high-adventure days are long behind him, becoming embroiled in a series of events with his estranged goddaughter Helena Shaw. Their journey centres around a device that could ‘change the course of history’, and puts them up against Jürgen Voller, a Nazi agent turned NASA scientist who sees the object as an opportunity to correct Hitler’s past ‘mistakes’.
- Day: Friday
- Location: Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens
- Time: Gates open at 6pm, and the movie starts at 7:30pm
- Genre: Action / Mystery
- Age restriction: 16 LPV
- Tickets: Webtickets
6 April: The Greatest Showman
The Greatest Showman is a biographical musical about young Phineas T. Barnum’s life as a child, entrepreneur, museum owner, circus producer and entertainment producer.
The film celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
- Day: Saturday
- Location: Stellenbosch Waldorf School – on the Spier Wine Farm
- Time: Gates open at 5pm, and the movie starts at 7:30pm
- Genre: Musical / Drama
- Age restriction: 10-12 PG PV
- Tickets: Webtickets
Also read:
Savour the final days of summer with The Galileo Open Air Cinema
Picture: Supplied
