Joachim Rens & Alexandra Rens are the couple behind Ibiza’s most romantic cinema experience. I am of course referring to the bespoke film and food experience that is Lime In The Coconut, the pop-up cinema that pop’s up in some of Ibiza’s most stunning locations…

Many of us have flirted with the idea of organizing outdoor cinema here in Ibiza over the years but none of us quite managed to pull it together and I doubt even if we had done could we have achieved the level of sophistication that you provide at Lime In The Coconut. 

Thank you so much! We are extremely happy that we were able to put everything together the way we had envisioned it. In some ways it exceeded our expectation. Dalt Vila was the perfect backdrop for our first sessions.

 

Firstly Please tell us a little about yourselves, how did you find yourselves here and when did the idea first grow in your mind?

We know each other from high school back in Holland and have traveled and worked in many different countries around the world. Being abroad exposes you to numerous great initiatives and inspired us to create something of our own. The outdoor cinema idea played in our minds for a few years but we got serious with it more than a year ago when we were living in Shanghai, China. There we were organizing movie nights for friends and were able to work on the idea, visit factories to look for the right supplies. When we had the concept in mind it was clear since the beginning that we wanted to start it in Spain and Ibiza because we thought our concept would fit the laidback atmosphere and style of the island.

 

Do you have a background in film and events?

Movies have always been our passion and we know really well what we like and how we like to see it. We always have worked in hospitality and we love entertaining and to work on a project bases. We like pop-up and turning a unique venue into a quality cinema. As for the movies we keep up with the newest releases and try to follow up on our classics, small independent releases, and foreign film.

Who chooses the movies and how do you choose them?

We select all the titles ourselves. This one of our favorite parts but also one of the most difficult parts! There are just so many great movies to choose from! By now we have experience so we know which titles will do well with our audience.

First of all, we have to love the movie as we host the evening and we want to get the people in the mood. But there are many other things we take into account when selecting a program. We want to show something that the guests will enjoy but at the same time we want to expose them to something they have not seen or something unexpected. Apart from the overall look and feel we believe our strength is offering a broad and surprising selection of movies.

When choosing the films we focus on the ones who trigger your emotion. A movie that makes you laugh, cry, that energizes you, makes you sad. It might even depress you. It’s part of our belief that we like our experience to appeal to all senses. So stimulate with incredible visuals, smell and taste freshly made food, feel relaxed in our comfortable bean beds during the warm Ibiza summer nights.

Your cinema set-up is bespoke and very well thought out from the bean-bags to the little tables to your screen set-up. It seems like you really committed to your idea, were you confident from the outset it would be commercially viable?

A movie becomes greater when you watch it in the perfect setting and Ibiza has so many beautiful places. In addition, opposed to other Spanish islands, there was no open-air cinema here. Even though there are so many great initiatives we like to think we offer something different. We have created a place where we really would like to go to ourselves! We love what we do, we always have and with this belief we were confident we could make it happen.

 

This is your second year now, have things worked out as you planned? Being granted your location in the Baluarte de San Pere at the top of Dalt Villa must have been a real coup?

It’s always difficult when you first start a new business. We had to fight really hard for our spot in Dalt Villa but once it all came together and we were able to show some great classics on cultural heritage we were over the moon. When the Ayuntamiento of Eivissa saw the beautiful cinema with the candles, lights and old city walls around it, they were truly satisfied with the outcome and decided to let us organize more nights this year.

 

Can you tell us a little about your regular screenings this year? I believe you are doing Amante again and there is word of a new venue in Cala Tarida, please tell us more about that.

We are really happy with our two venues Amante Beach Club on the east coast in Cala Llonga and Cotton Beach Club in Cala Tarida on the west coast. Both locations are unique in terms of their setting and view.

Amante Beach Club and its surroundings are breathtaking. When we first set up the screen there it looked like the place was especially designed for open-air cinema. You hear the waves break right next to you while watching a movie. It is truly a unique experience.

Cotton Beach Club is a beautiful new venue in Cala Tarida. There we will host movies every Friday from the end of May until October. We will set up the screen on their rooftop. From there you can enjoy the famous Ibiza sunset with music food and drinks. Right after we will start our screening. It is a complete night out.

 

What films will you be screening this summer?

This year we screen a lot of big recent releases and Oscar nominations. At Amante we are starting with Gravity. Other big titles of this year are Dallas Buyers Club and Captain Philips. It is a varied program with the recent comedy hit We’re the Millers and the Spanish film Volver.

At Cotton we start with Rush, the biopic of Nicci Lauda. It is a really energetic film filled with adrenaline. We have a screening every week so we will combine documentaries, recent classics, and all-time favorites, such as American Beauty and The Breakfast Club.

In the Baluarte we will program more true classics that fit right in the old décor and some Spanish must see titles.

 

If you could screen a film anywhere on the island where would you screen it and what film would you show?

Good question! He would like to screen Kinji Fukusaku’s Cult Thriller Battle Royale within the cave down at Cala Conta. She would like to see Robert De Niro shine as ‘Noodles’ in  Once upon a time in America with Es Vedra in sight.