Arthouse exhibitors from Poland to Venezuela have added their voices to the chorus of disapproval about Europa Cinemas’ new bonus payment scheme to promote partnerships between cinemas and online distribution platforms.
The International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (CICAE) has joined forces with the French Association of Art Cinemas AFCAE, Germany’s AG Kino - Gilde, and Italy’s Arthouse Exhibitors Federation FICE to express their concerns about Europa Cinemas “giving in to the massive demands by ‘Creative Europe’ in Brussels to do away with the release chronology for films”.
“The abandonment of release windows and the introduction of simultaneous releases in the cinemas and as VoD will result in an existential threat for many smaller cinemas with a European profile to their programming,” the associations explained.
“It will mainly affect cinemas in small towns and small countries where there isn’t sufficient or any public funding measures for cinemas.”
The arthouse cinemas argued that “no amount of funding from Brussels or a bonus system from Europa Cinemas” would make “a decisive improvement to the audience success of small European films”.
“A main reason for the weakness of European films in their non-national distribution continues to be the fixation on production funding throughout Europe and the inadequate funding for distribution, marketing and exhibition.”
Crucial role of cinemas
CICAE, which is celebrating the 60th anniversary of its founding this year, represents 3,000 screens of seven exhibitors associations in France, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, Hungary, Belgium and Venezuela as well as independent arthouse cinemas in such countries as Austria, Poland, Cyprus, Japan, and Latin America.
In addition, the Confederation’s network includes some 20 festivals - from the Berlinale through Cannes’ Directors’ Fortnight to Locarno and Sarajevo - and a number of arthouse distributors.
This year’s Cannes Film Festival had seen the CICAE meeting with the Italian MEP Silvia Costa, the current chair of the European Parliament’s Committee on Culture and Education, to discuss the European Commission’s (EC) plans for a Digital Single Market.
During the meeting, Costa had stressed the crucial role of cinemas in the distribution of European films and indicated that this should “remain unchanged in spite of opening up to new digital distribution channels.”
Her fellow MEP, Poland’s Bogdan Wenta, had noted in his report on ‘European Film in the Digital Era’ that “cinemas are still the most significant locations for presenting and promoting films, as well as being places with an important social dimension where people meet and exchange views.”
Future of arthouse
The CICAE’s mobilisation of its forces in reaction to the bonus scheme comes on the eve of the 12th edition of its Art Cinema = Action + Management training programme (Aug 21 - Sept 7) which will be held on Venice’s San Servolo Island during next week’s Film Festival and Market.
A total of 50 professionals working in arthouse exhibition around the world will attend workshops on such issues as programming alternative content and for young audiences, new distribution models, digitisation as well as success stories from networks, cinema projects and festivals such as Cinema Italia, Zagreb’s Kino Europa, and Wroclaw’s New Horizons IFF.
The participants come from as far afield as Greenland (Bill Bering of the capital Nuuk’s Katuaq cultural centre) and Nigeria (Aderinsola Ajao of Lagos Film Society) with the largest contingent coming from the UK - with representatives from Kino-Teatr of St Leonard on Sea, Badlands Collective and The New Black Film Collective in London, among others - followed by Germany and France.
Speakers for the workshops and the ‘60 Years of Art Cinemas’ conference, to be held in cooperation with the Venice Film Market, will include Picturehouse Cinemas’ Jon Barrenechea, Film Europe’s Ivan Hronec, Europa Cinemas’ Fatima Djoumer, CNC’s Pierre-Emmanuel Lecerf, the German Federal Film Board’s Christine Berg, and The Loft Cinema’s Peggy Johnson.
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