Gilles Renouard of Paris Cinéphile describes it as 'an astonishing experience' for its nostalgic associations and being able to be within 3 metres of the screen if you sit in the balcony.

In 1925, actors Armand Tallier and Laurence Myrga choose the small rue des Ursulines to establish a cinema to specialize in avant-garde films and catered to art house audiences.

Films by André Breton, Man Ray, Fernand Léger, René Clair and Robert Desnos were shown.

Between January 1926 and December 1957, a wide range of now-classic films premiered at the theater, such as René Clair's Le Voyage Imaginaire, Von Stroheim’s Greed, Von Sternberg’s The Blue Angel, Roberto Rossellini’s’ Amore and Howard Hawks A Girl in Every Port.

The film was heckled by the surrealists André Breton and Louis Aragon, leading to a fight that stopped the screening.