On the first Friday of April, Wallester teams in Tallinn, Riga, and Cannes did something very simple yet very worthwhile. They went to the cinema together.
Now, on paper, that might not seem like that big of a deal. In practice, though, it was, because it meant synchronising schedules across three countries, filling cinemas with colleagues, and setting aside the usual pace of work for a few hours. Also, for a company like Wallester, with teams spread across offices and functions, the collective moment mattered more than it might seem.
The format was simple: three different cities, three screenings, one coordinated movie night.
In Tallinn, 70+ people gathered to watch The Wolf of Wall Street, while in Riga, the team headed to Ave Maria. In Cannes, the team met for How to Make a Killing. Different films, different groups, but the same goal: just switch off for the evening and spend time together outside the usual work setting. In short, relax.
More Than Just a Night at the Cinema
And it worked. There’s something refreshing about corporate events that do not try too hard, lacking a complicated structure, a formal agenda, or pressure to network. A film, some snacks, and a chance to watch a movie with people who you usually only see in meetings and calls.
The feedback from the French office sums it up really well: “1.5 hours of relaxing and escaping”, with popcorn, chips, and a warm atmosphere everyone appreciated. Is there a better outcome an event like this can have? It was not spectacular nor performative, just genuinely enjoyable. And it also says something useful about how company culture really works.
While culture is often spoken about in abstract terms, the reality is more concrete and complicated. It is built through smaller things and it translates into people feeling comfortable around each other, spaces to connect informally, and events that people actually want to take part in. Of course, a movie night will not define culture on its own, but it does help make one visible.
For us, the cross-border element made it even better. Even though the teams were in different cinemas, and in different countries, the event felt shared. It was local but coordinated. It was also relaxed but collective. Everyone was doing the same thing at roughly the same time, which gave the evening a sense of company-wide participation rather than three separate office outings. And the snacks didn’t last long.
Sometimes that’s all that’s needed for a great event. People show up, take a few photos, and leave feeling slightly more connected than before. No grand takeaways are always required.
That’s exactly what Wallester’s Movie Night was: a simple idea, well executed across three cities at once. And it will not be the last.
