In 2021, Rialto VU opened its doors on the VU campus on De Boelelaan. No coincidental timing: exactly one hundred years earlier, in 1921, founder Anton Pieter du Mee opened the original Rialto on Ceintuurbaan in De Pijp. That anniversary connection between the two locations does say something about how seriously Rialto takes its history, and how conscious the choice was to open a second venue.
The cinema has four modern movie theaters and programs in line with its parent location: arthouse films, international productions, film specials and thematic festivals. Those who know Rialto De Pijp's programming know what to expect. No blockbusters, but films that put you somewhere. The joint program of both locations allows you to filter by location on the Rialto website, handy if you want to know what's playing specifically on campus.
The building itself is more than a cinema. Rialto VU shares the building with VU Griffioen, which houses two theaters and ten course rooms, with the VU ART SCIENCE gallery as an exhibition space, and with a café. Thus, the whole thing has become a cultural hub on campus, where you can catch a theater performance or see an exhibition in addition to a movie. For VU students and staff, this is a nice combination, but the offerings are emphatically not just for the university community.
Buitenveldert, the Zuidas and Amstelveen previously did not have their own movie theater nearby. Rialto VU fills that void.
Rialto VU is open Monday through Saturday from two in the afternoon until midnight, and on Sundays until 10 in the evening. Programming can be found through the central Rialto website, where you can easily switch between De Pijp and the VU location. For those who live in Buitenveldert or the Zuidas and have been waiting for a movie theater close by for a while: this is it. Four theaters, a good program and a café to discuss the film after. That's really all you need.