De Uitkijk: Cinema in Grachtengordel, Amsterdam

★★★★★ 4.7

De Uitkijk is a small film theatre in a 17th-century warehouse on the Prinsengracht in Amsterdam, a few minutes from Leidseplein. It shows classics, restorations and cult films alongside a few new titles, and it is run by a group of students who pick the programme themselves. What you get is repertory cinema: a silent classic one night, a restored 1990s favourite the next, and specials on the side. A team of about twelve students runs the place without a hierarchy, as a sister project of Kriterion, and keeps a classic film culture going while trying new things. Cineville cards are valid here. The warehouse became the City Bioscoop in 1912. In 1929 the Filmliga took it over, and it became De Uitkijk, the first avant-garde cinema in the Netherlands. That movement's manifesto, which demanded film as art rather than commerce, was answered by the current team's own manifesto for the theatre's 110th birthday, aimed at the streaming services. A crowdfunding campaign among regular visitors paid for a full renovation of the hall, with new seats and carpet installed in January 2026. The doors open half an hour before the first screening and close a quarter of an hour after the last one starts. A ramp at the entrance leads into the foyer, but the screening room is not accessible to wheelchair users, and assistance dogs are always allowed. The ticket list has separate rates for CJP, students, the Stadspas and Cineville cardholders. The hall can also be hired for meetings, premieres and presentations.