Museumnacht 2025: A Night of Many Stories at Filmhuis Lumière

“A playground with something for everyone.” This is how Filmhuis Lumière presents its activities for Museumnacht 2025. Indeed, a very rich and diversified program awaits cinephiles and curious visitors of all ages in the filmhuis! Because Lumière is not only a cinema, it offers many activities and workshops to discover the film’s background and extend the cultural knowledge of many enthusiasts. 

From screenings…

Filmhuis Lumière is the perfect place to (re)discover gems of cinema, from the past and present. This year, the organizers chose to put David Lynch's works in the spotlight. The American filmmaker, who died in January 2025, is most known for movies like “The Elephant Man” or “Mulholland Drive”. The filmhouse will focus on a selection of short films, showing the development of Lynch’s artistic career. Lumière explains that the director introduces the short movies, explaining his choices and works (even if Lynch didn’t make it on purpose for Lumière!). Exploring David Lynch’s art is always a dive into a bizarre world, something that makes the audience think for a while after viewing. Because it is part of cinema heritage, this selection is essential to visit for all movie enthusiasts.  

If you want to experience a screening on a different note, Lumière has you covered! The Kaboom Animation Festival proposes a selection of short animated films in different styles around the theme of freedom. This is the occasion to discover new styles and stories, from personal liberation to political resistance. The organizers explain that the “unique lens” through which freedom is presented is very enriching. 

The last screening proposed by Lumière is a different type of experience. Indeed, the Dutch artist (from Maastricht!) Veerle Houben came up with a project of interactive screening. The audience is involved and contributes to making the story progress. Through applause, the people watching the movie help a female character grow, and ultimately, escape her condition (and the condition of the world?). This is a unique and exciting experience that confronts the audience with its role as an actor in the screening. Even the organizers confess to not having seen the final result of Houben’s work, so it is really worth seeing it yourself.

…To film-making

What if you want to learn more about the ways films you see on screens are made? Filmhuis Lumière proposes a real-scale workshop where you discover all the means that are used by directors to make their movies. This activity concentrates on the “film noir” genre, characterized by its complex characters (the “femme fatale”, the “detective”...) and specific staging (often black & white, complex use of light…). Thus, this activity introduces the public to this genre and gives them all the elements needed to make a film (camera, script, green screen...) so they can get under the skin of a “film noir” director. An interactive way to discover what goes on behind the scenes and enrich your cinematic cultural knowledge. 

Expand your cultural knowledge while having fun! 

Lumière is more than a cinema. Indeed, the evening aims to make people learn more about cinema but also to enlarge their general culture, and Lumière does it joyfully. Indeed, the filmhuis will organize a film quiz to learn on a playful note. How will it work? The participants will wear a lettered suit, work in teams, and answer the quiz-master questions by arranging themselves properly to create the right word. Questions will go from pop culture to classic cinema. But in the end, it is not only your culture that counts: it is your rapidity and team spirit! 

Lastly, Lumière offers you the chance to become a painting artist. Have you ever heard of Bob Ross’ “Joy of Painting”? In this American TV show, Bob Ross taught painting techniques while he completed a work, directly applying the techniques as he taught them. For Museumnacht, the Filmhuis wanted to reproduce this type of experience in Lumière’s grand café. 30 painters will watch an episode of the “Joy of Painting” and realize their work, using Ross’ techniques. Of course, no need to be an expert painter to practice this activity: it is open to all. And for the late-comers, the organizers assure that it is still very fun to watch it from the sidelines. 

And finally, after an evening of culture and cinema, Lumière invites you to relax in the grand café (at 10 pm, after the end of the painting workshop) for a drink with friends, some music with the presence of collective DJ 120BPM, and iconic movie scenes on the big screen. All of this in a warm and welcoming atmosphere, just like what Lumière proposes for this edition of Museumnacht. 

I can only invite you to join Lumière, as the cinema always has something to offer. What better quote than David Lynch's: “cinema makes you dream” to illustrate this. So join Lumière and immerse yourself in the world of cinema.