The General on Grote Markt: Haarlem Classic Film Festival
Saturday 5 September from 20:30, free. Buster Keaton in 4K, a live trio, Steamboat Willie first. Bring a chair if you want.
Written by Sanne de Ridder
Saturday night on the square
On Saturday 5 September 2026 the Haarlem Classic Film Festival puts a screen on Grote Markt. From 20:30 it shows The General (1926) by Buster Keaton, in a 4K restoration. Entry is free.
Schuur and FilmKoepel run it together. The opening follows their habit: a film that is exactly a hundred years old. Keaton plays an engineer who takes back a stolen locomotive. The Martin de Ruiter Trio plays live. Martin de Ruiter on bandoneón, Matthias Konrad on trombone, Erik Winkelmann on double bass.
Short film and Haarlem in 1922
First comes Steamboat Willie (1928), the Disney short where Mickey Mouse first moves on screen. During the Damiaatjes bells they show work footage from 1922. St Bavo's tower, the cloister, the Spaarne, Haarlemmerhout, Brouwershofje, the Frans Hals statue, Bakenesse-gracht and Spanjaardslaan.
Arrive early. FilmKoepel says you can bring your own camping chair.
Then indoors
From 6 to 8 September the festival moves to Schuur and FilmKoepel. Each film gets an introduction. Titles and tickets sit on hcff.nl.
Same stones, by day
Grote Markt is the square in front of Grote Kerk. By day, before the screen goes up:
- Haarlem Highlights for Grote Markt, Grote Kerk and the core
- Open Monumentendag follows on 10 and 11 September
Source
Programme: Haarlem Classic Film Festival. Chair and start time: FilmKoepel. Times can still move.
