There are few places in the city where you can watch a movie with the IJ right in front of you and the skyline as a backdrop. Films with a View does exactly that, every Tuesday evening at Pllek’s city beach. You sit on bean bags in the sand, wrapped in a blanket as the evening cools down, with wireless headphones on. The big screen is set up on the beach, and behind the images, you can see the lights of downtown reflecting in the water.
The lineup changes weekly and mixes cult classics with recent releases. This summer season, the schedule definitely includes Tim Burton’s *Edward Scissorhands* (1990) and *The Terminator* (1984), the sci-fi action film with which James Cameron defined a genre. Two films you’re probably already familiar with, but watching them on a big outdoor screen with headphones on is a different experience than watching them at home on the couch.
Pllek itself is the organizer and host venue for the event. It’s no stranger to Noord: the venue has been around for years on the former NDSM industrial site and has become one of the best-known spots along the IJ. The beach area borders directly on the water, with a view of the skyline. On a summer evening, that’s quite something. The combination of a restaurant, an urban beach, and now a weekly outdoor movie theater makes Pllek a place where you can easily spend an entire evening.
You're sitting on bean bags in the sand, with wireless headphones on your head and the skyline in the background.
The NDSM shipyard is easily accessible from downtown via the free ferry from Amsterdam Central Station. A 15-minute ride and you’re on the grounds. The shipyard’s industrial character—rough walls, steel, and concrete—creates a unique yet fitting setting for a movie night. It fits in with the way Noord has, in recent years, filled up with spots that are just a little different from what you find in the city center. Tickets are available online, and if you’re willing to take a chance, you can also buy them at the box office an hour and a half before the show starts, as long as the screening isn’t sold out.