It was only a matter of time before Isay Weinfeld designed a cinema. The São Paulo-based architect is celebrated worldwide for his buildings, interiors, and furniture, but fewer people know that film is an equal passion. In 1988, he co-directed the feature Fogo e Paixão with his former business partner, and he is a professor of kinetic expression at the Fundação Armando Álvares Penteado, a private, non-profit university and cultural centre in São Paulo. Those who know Weinfeld are familiar with the boyish glint in his eye at the first mention of the movies. At Cine Tutu, that glint is everywhere.
Discover the world of Cine Tutu by Isay Weinfeld
The 114-seat independent movie house is the first street cinema in Vila Madalena, the city’s bohemian-chic enclave. Located on Rua Girassol, the building was conceived as a theatre but sat unfinished and empty for years. Founder Paulo Velasco, also behind Cinesala – the beloved street cinema in neighbouring Pinheiros – has delivered it to its original cultural calling, and Weinfeld has staged the experience as a sequence of scenes, each a sophisticated take on the moviegoing ritual, none resembling the shopping-mall multiplex.
The first unfolds at street level in Barouche, Velasco’s café-bar, open with or without a ticket. Expect speciality Brazilian coffee, sandwiches, draught beer and craft cocktails, plus popcorn from vintage countertop pipoqueiras – a buttery, nostalgic touch. Contrasting stainless steel and rich, warm native wood sets a stylish tone, and lush tropical flora behind the glass façade puts on a show of its own.
Downstairs, the waiting area feels more like a cocktail lounge than a pre-show holding pen. The walls are full of framed classic film posters, and stylish custom olive-green banquettes are clustered around a central column. Above, a one-of-a-kind centrepiece chandelier stretches its slender arms, washing the ceiling in pools of warm light that are a design feature in their own right. It all makes the room hard to leave, even as the coming attractions are calling.
Inside the screening room, a cheeky floral print developed in partnership with renowned Brazilian textile and design house Entreposto covers the rows of seats and lounge chairs prototyped to perfection by Weinfeld’s famously detail-obsessed studio. By nature, the technology maintains a lower visual profile, but delivers an eye-opening experience with an 8.9m-wide screen, Christie 4K projection, and Dolby 7.1 sound.
When the credits roll, the bar beckons for a drink and a debate about the film’s high points, low points, and, of course, the denouement. This month, there is plenty to discuss: Cine Tutu has joined the line-up of venues for the 50th São Paulo International Film Festival. Look for Weinfeld in the front row.