Take your dog to... the movies!

We've had Dezik and Tsygan parachuting from the edge of space, Rupee at Mount Everest Base Camp, and Bothie at both poles. This month, we're celebrating what is likely the first recorded case of a dog attending 100 cinema screenings. How did it happen?

Since meeting Boswell in Spain when one night together in my van unexpectedly turned into a long-term relationship, I’ve learned that he belongs to a minority that, even decades after the Civil Rights and other liberation movements, still isn’t permitted to enter buses, restaurants, or movie theaters in many places. As a gesture of solidarity, I stopped going as well, and it has become a dream of mine to finally take him to the movies.

One day, when I read a press announcement about an animal-friendly cinema in Manchester, I was close to planning a trip there—but soon I realized it wasn’t the only destination worth putting into my GPS.

There is an anecdote about two famous Polish actors walking into a bar and being asked by an angry waiter, “Whose dog is that?” One of them replied, “No idea, he was already sitting here. We only joined him.” Once, on vacation in my home country, I joined Boswell in a café that also had a small cinema space, and timidly asked if we could both show up at the evening screening. The answer was “yes”, and suddenly the dream came true.

Nowadays, while I inevitably disturb the audience with my coughing, throat-clearing and sniffling, Boswell lies quietly on my lap. He has napped through some of the biggest masterpieces of modern cinema, like Anora, Maldoror, or Sound of Falling. He has slept during comedies, thrillers, horrors and dramas. Even if he hasn’t set a Guinness World Record for most films attended by a dog, he would certainly win one for the canine disregard for the seventh art. Nevertheless, the screening room is his favorite bedroom, and he sometimes wakes up during discussions at film clubs. He used to react to barking dogs, but now he knows they are not real, and very few sounds are able to trigger him anymore.

Over the past three years, we've discovered 25 dog-friendly venues for cinephiles and their sleepy companions. Below is the list of official ones (the full list is on my blog):

• Kino Amondo (Warsaw)
• Kino U-jazdowski (Warsaw)
• Kinoteka (Warsaw)
• Kino Muzeum (Warsaw)
• Kino Pod Baranami (Kraków)
• Kino Agrafka (Kraków)
• Kinokawiarnia Kika (Kraków)
• Kino Muza (Poznań)
• Kino Żeglarz (Jastarnia)
• Kino Olbrzym (Tarnowskie Góry)
• Kino na Starówce (Żory)
• Cinema Modernissimo (Naples)
• Casa del Cinema (Rome)

Before you plan a long trip just to visit a cinema with your dog (like my trip to Manchester), please check the current situation. There used to be two movie theaters in Warsaw that were open to dogs, but they are no longer, due to ideological or business reasons: Kino Kultura and Kinogram. It’s also worth mentioning that the Film Museum in Łódź—the city where The Promised Land, one of Martin Scorsese’s favorites, was shot—officially allows dogs and has a small cinema where dogs can enter as long as other viewers agree.

What I usually do to find these places is drop by and ask while exploring new cities. Sometimes the staff need to make a few phone calls before letting us in, but often, to both our surprise, they do. An easier approach, however, is to check the visitor policy online or the cinema's social media pages. Some, including Kinokawiarnia Stacja Falenica, organize screenings with specially reduced sound levels. At others, such as Kino Muza, they have become a regular part of a program called Dog Day Afternoon.

This naturally raises a question: should movie theaters remain spaces exclusively for humans, given that many iconic screen characters such as Marley, Benji, Toto, or Frank have walked on four legs? Based on my experience, the worst thing a well-behaved dog can do is… fart. And Boswell's farts, in particular, tend to smell faintly of popcorn. Most of these venues don’t serve popcorn anyway, so it becomes more of a feature than a problem. Even so, it is enough to instruct your dog at the beginning — just like in the Australian flick Roadgames, from which Boswell’s name comes: “It's you and me, pal. Now listen. No snoring and no evil smells!” The snoring part works.

Jokes aside, I have only seen one other dog in a screening room apart from Boswell. It should be said clearly that not every dog will enjoy the show. Some may find it stressful or simply uncomfortable. If you want to try it, I’d recommend starting in a similar, calm environment first—for example a long indoor event or meetup (our first successful attempt was a poetry reading). It also helps if your pet has had a long walk beforehand, ideally a couple of hours, so they're naturally more relaxed.

Throughout my years of "dog's life"—facing bans and restrictions—I've learned that the notion of being pet-friendly depends on people's habits and preferences. For some, it might mean the possibility of entering the grocery store with a dog, for others going to the office, and for still others—watching films together. For some, the availability of dog parks is enough, as was the case in Spain. I hope the day will come when everyone's expectations in this regard are met. My new goal is to go on a double date at the movies. Does anyone have a little fluffy friend who loves sitting on laps and appreciates a good scratch behind the ears?