The municipality plans to restore and reopen Atlântida Cine in Carcavelos, preserving its cultural heritage and maintaining cinema at the heart of its future programming.
The Cascais City Council has completed the acquisition of the Atlântida Cine, in Carcavelos, for 600,000 euros, with the aim of recovering “an emblematic space of local cultural history” and returning it to the population, the municipality announced today.
According to the City Council, the deed was signed on September 23rd, for the amount of 600,000 euros, and "the assessment of the building's condition and the definition of the necessary interventions for its restoration and future reopening to the public will now follow."
Plans for cultural revival
The operating model, programming, and management "will be defined at a later stage," says the city hall's statement, adding that "the municipality has been receiving proposals, ideas, and expressions of interest from agents linked to culture and cinema," remaining "open to contributions that can help build the future" of the facility.
“The acquisition of the Atlântida Cine is a decisive step to guarantee the future of this space. With the intervention of the local authority, we ensure that it continues to be dedicated to culture and cinema,” said the mayor, Nuno Piteira Lopes, quoted in the statement.
The facility, he assured, "can naturally host other cultural initiatives, but cinema will remain at the heart of its identity and programming."
Cinema to remain central
According to the Cascais city hall, in the Lisbon district, initiatives are being evaluated to promote films, training and appreciation of national cinema, as well as projects and partnerships that strengthen the connection between the space and the Carcavelos community and the cultural agents of the municipality.
“We want a vibrant Atlântida Cine, with a quality program capable of attracting new audiences and bringing different generations closer together through cinema,” Piteira Lopes emphasised.
Community calls for reopening
In an open letter sent to the city hall in August by the company Cinetoscópio and the Atlântida Cine Fan Community, concern was expressed about the future of the theatre, which has been closed since 2024, and the maintenance of a regular film program was advocated.
At the time, the council stated that it intends to renovate the property and regularise currently unlegalized situations, in order to create operating conditions "with quality and safety".
The municipality said the acquisition of the property was unanimously approved at an executive meeting on June 16, but the deed had not yet been finalised due to an issue with the necessary documentation from the owning family.
Over 40 years of cinema history
Atlântida Cine was founded in 1982 by Fausto Semedo and operated for over 40 years in the basement of the Carcavelos Shopping Centre, near the train station. The space closed in May 2024 and was put up for sale in December of that year.