Cité du Cinéma in Saint-Denis: discover the new cultural hub where cinema, exhibitions and performances come together.

The Cité du Cinéma in Saint-Denis is reinventing itself in 2026. Born of Luc Besson, this well-known landmark of French cinema is now opening its doors wider to the public with a new program spanning film, exhibitions, music and live performances. After hosting part of the Village des Athlètes during the Paris 2024 Games, the site remains a focal point for numerous shoots, notably Emily in Paris and Le Bureau des Légendes. The Paris Studios, for their part, continue their activities on site, while the Louis-Lumière School also reclaims space within the Cité.

During the Jeux olympiques et paralympiques de Paris 2024, the Cité du Cinéma was put in the spotlight, since it was here that the athletes Fuel their daily meals. An immense temporary restaurant, it sits right beside the village olympique (Saint-Denis side). "With this new project, we want this heritage [la] to be returned to the residents," explained Mathieu Hanotin, former mayor of Saint-Denis. Thus, a whole new programming was crafted for this site "which has always embodied the dream," also recounted by Didier Gouband, president of Seine et Watts, the company charged with reviving a portion of this iconic site. The project rests on four major pillars: cinema, live arts, music, and media.

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First, the Cité du Cinéma offers projections in a salle de cinéma remise à neuf, with no fewer than 450 seats and, above all, a strong emphasis on young local filmmakers within the film programming. Also, expositions autour du cinéma et de la pop culture are on offer, while étudiants de l'école Louis Lumière continue their studies at the Cité. The centerpiece of the site is certainly the grand restaurant open to the public, with a terrace on the Seine and designed as a true hub of life, set to open in 2026 to become a living space on par with a cultural venue. Several emblematic spaces of the Cité will be gradually used to host this new programming, blending exhibitions, encounters and events.

The Cité du Cinéma won’t be limited to big-screen screenings: the venue will also feature a broader cultural program, blending cinema with performing arts, music and media. Stand-up, dance, hybrid performances, concerts and DJ sets will set the pace for life on site, complemented by formats centered on radio, narration and contemporary creation. Alongside this open-to-public programming, the Cité also aims to become a meeting place for creators, companies and visitors, hosting a variety of professional events.

Thought of as a daily-life hub, the Cité du Cinéma speaks to both local residents and families, school groups, or passersby, with a special emphasis on accessibility, narrative diversity, and inclusion. "The Cité du Cinéma aims to be a true place of life, where people come as much to spend time as to attend a show, to watch a film in a premiere, to dine at the food court, or to take part in a workshop," summarizes Didier Gouband, president of Seine et Watts.

In total, more than 6,000 people can be on site at once in the great nave of the Cité, turning it into a true hub for the neighborhood since June 2026. Based in the heart of the Saint-Denis Pleyel area, La Cité now aims to bridge the site's heritage with contemporary forms of cultural and audiovisual creation.

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