This weekend, this new association invites you to three free open-air cinema screenings in Saint-Tropez (and no reservation required)

Three free, no-reservations open-air cinema screenings. This is the concept of a new event in the cultural life of Saint-Tropez (already very rich), thanks to the very recent association "Les nuits de la Ponche" , chaired by Georges Saier (Véry group), one of the owners of the La Ponche hotel. The director of the five-star hotel had also announced this launch in our columns a few weeks ago, when she took up her duties.

The result of a partnership between the establishment and the City, the structure has set up an Instagram account for its communication and has found two sponsors to celebrate this cinema-loving weekend as it should: actress Alice Dufour and her partner, actor François Vincentelli.

" Our aim is to create magical moments to be experienced with family and friends, and to share cinematic emotions amplified by the starry night and the exceptional settings offered by the village of Saint-Tropez. The ambition is to offer each year, at the same time at the start of the summer season, evening screenings that celebrate French and international heritage cinema," promise the organizers.

More than 250 chairs will be set up on the Quai de la Pesquière to admire, on a 7m x 4m screen (1m20 from the ground), three very different films at 9:30 p.m., once darkness has settled in. Friday, Le sens de la fête by Eric Tolenado and Olivier Nakache (2017) is the opportunity to see Jean-Pierre Bacri again in one of his last roles: his performance as a wedding planner facing a series of unforeseen events, alongside Jean-Paul Rouve, Alban Ivanov, Eye Haïdara and Gilles Lellouche, is simply irresistible.

Popcorn and refreshments

On Saturday, the musical Mamma Mia! (in the original version with subtitles), starring Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Firth, will also be full of laughs.

This huge 2008 hit, a fantastical story of a wedding on a Greek island, will delight fans of the Swedish group Abba, whose hits (such as The Winner Takes It All and Dancing Queen ) punctuate these 109 minutes of good humor.

Finally, on Sunday, the day after the inauguration of the lighthouse bearing the image of Françoise Sagan (who was a regular at the Hotel La Ponche), on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of her birth, film buffs will be able to enjoy the adaptation of her early masterpiece Bonjour tristesse , directed by Otto Preminger in 1958 (also in the original version), with Jean Seberg, Mylène Demongeot, David Niven and Juliette Gréco (another figure with known links to the Gulf).

Access is without reservation, subject to availability, and it is possible to sit freely by bringing your own seat. " The goal is really to create a friendly atmosphere, like Cinéma Paradisio ," explains Virginie Martin, who is in charge of communications.

The co-founder of the Pampelonne Ramatuelle Literary Prize, whose fourth edition has just concluded, points out that the same big screen is used for both events. Viewers of the biopic dedicated to Charles Aznavour (and last year for the adaptation of Yann Queffélec's book on Florence Arthaud) were thus able to appreciate the broadcast conditions.

To maintain that summer cinematic feel, organizers have also planned a popcorn and crepe stand, as well as a refreshment bar. You're welcome to bring your own picnic, just to satisfy a little hunger with your head in the stars of the sky and the spotlights.

On a site made famous throughout the world thanks to a certain Brigitte Bardot, radiant with beauty in And God Created Woman .