Au Tour du Cycle ("Je pédale pour mon film")
Websitehttps://www.ardenne-meridionale.be/projets/tourisme/175/je-pedale-pour-mon-film/
Au Tour du Cycle, a Gedinne association, tours Belgium's Ardenne méridionale with the pedal-powered cinema "Je pédale pour mon film". The audience takes turns pedalling a single bicycle to keep the film running; editions have run each summer since 2023.
Key facts
“On transporte et on installe le cinéma dans différents endroits qu'on estime emblématiques de la région. Mais pour que le film puisse être visionné, le public doit pédaler. Il s'agit d'un vélo classique qui a été posé sur un home trainer, relié à un galet en bois qui va entraîner un moteur. On a ensuite un système qui va convertir l'énergie musculaire en énergie électrique.”
Translation: We transport and set up the cinema in different places we consider emblematic of the region. But for the film to be watched, the audience has to pedal. It's an ordinary bicycle mounted on a home trainer, connected to a wooden roller that drives a motor. We then have a system that converts muscular energy into electrical energy.
Au Tour du Cycle is a nonprofit association (asbl) that runs the touring festival together with the Parc naturel de l'Ardenne méridionale 1. Olivier Defosse co-designed its system as a homemade Belgian adaptation of France's Cinécyclo 1. The regional broadcaster Matélé (RTBF group) covered the first documented edition in July 2023 1; the park's festival page documents the 2024 and 2025 editions, six screenings across the three years, and announces a 2026 edition 2.
Specifications
| Field | Value | Confidence | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fleet | 1 home-trainer bicycle; audience takes turns | Documented | 1 |
| Drive mechanism | Wooden roller (galet en bois) driving a motor | Documented | 1 |
| Buffer / storage | not disclosedThe system evidently keeps the projector running between individual pedal strokes, implying some buffering, but no battery or capacitor is named in any source found. | Not disclosed | 1 |
| First documented edition | 2023 Matélé/RTBF-group coverage | Documented | 1 |
| Editions documented | 2023, 2024, 2025 six screenings across the three editionsThe 2024 and 2025 editions are documented by the partner regional park's own festival page, not by the 2023 broadcast coverage. | Documented | 2 |
| 2026 edition dates | 18 July – 9 August 2026 | Documented | 2 |
In their own words
"L'association gedinnoise 'Au tour du cycle' est derrière ce prototype de dynamo-cyclo… On parvient à alimenter un projecteur et des enceintes avec un système fait maison." — The Gedinne-based association 'Au tour du cycle' is behind this dynamo-cyclo prototype… We manage to power a projector and speakers with a homemade system. 1
Related
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Cinécyclo
Active last verified 2026-09Direct design inspiration for this project's single-rider system
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Ludik Énergie ("Vélo Cinéma")
Active last verified 2026-09Regional neighbour in the France/Belgium pedal-cinema scene
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Cin'énergie
Active last verified 2026-09Fellow francophone single-rider pedal-cinema project
Descends from:Cinécyclo
Sources
- [1]Matélé (RTBF) — Je pédale pour mon film (2023)www.matele.be
- [2]PNR Ardenne méridionale — agenda 2026www.ardenne-meridionale.be
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