Digital Cinema

EUROPA CINEMAS – TRADE PRESS REVIEW – WEDNESDAY 3 AUGUST 2005 RECENT AWARDS ● Armenia. Golden Apricots boosts Armenian pix ● Germany. Alles auf Zucker wins the Lolas ● Russia. Moscow International Film Festival ● France. ParisCinema ● France. International Documentary Film Festival of Marseille ● Czech Republic. Karlovy Vary International Film Festival ● Belgium. Brussels European Film Festival ● Ireland. Galway Film Fleadh ● Croatia. Motovun Film Festival CINEMA ATTENDANCE ● Cinema attendance plummets in the United States and drops in France ● Portugal. Number of moviegoers dropped ● Norway. 13% dip the first semester ● Czech Republic. Cinema attendance down by 1.4 million GERMANY ● German pix zipping to Net FRANCE ● Saint-Michel cinema: the son looks on ● Independents join forces through Dire NETHERLANDS ● Arthouse trend boosts declining Dutch box office POLAND ● New law, new resources UNITED KINGDOM ● British first films: films d’auteur are disappearing ● EasyCinema eyes West End debut ALGERIA ● Who remembers the cinema in Oran? MOROCCO ● The CCM is launched on the Internet TUNISIA ● A look back at the 2004-2005 cinematographic season BURKINA FASO ● Minors in videoclubs: At the school of corruption SOME FESTIVALS TO COME… Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 1 EUROPA CINEMAS – TRADE PRESS REVIEW – WEDNESDAY 3 AUGUST 2005 RECENT AWARDS ● Yerevan. Golden Apricots boosts Armenian pix The second Yerevan Golden Apricot Film Festival brought a strong response from the international fest crowd, portending a bright future for the event, held July 12-17 in the Armenian capital. Though still small in scale, it has already positioned itself as a regional contender in the Caucasus and a link with Russia and the Mideast. A small country fraught with tragedy, Armenia was involved in a bloody war with neighboring Azerbaijan until a cease-fire was declared in 1994. An energy crisis at the time forced some 20% of the population to emigrate. But now the atmosphere is optimistic once more. The center of Yerevan pulsates with buildings under construction and late-model cars. Youth line up at the Moscow cinema [member of Europa Cinemas] to see new movies and push their way into workshops with international filmmakers. Audiences turned out en masse to welcome star directors Abbas Kiarostami, Krzysztof Zanussi and Nikita Mikhalkov. Two guests with Armenian backgrounds, actress Arsinee Khanjian and Canadian director Atom Egoyan, who headed the international jury, were especially popular. (…) The film selection, though chosen from last year's festivals, was widely regarded as top-notch. With few U.S. films on view, European and new Russian cinema took home the lion's share of the awards. Aleksandr Sokurov's revisionist study of emperor Hirohito and Japan's surrender at the end of WWII, The Sun, earned the feature film prize, while Pirjo Honkasalo's The 3 Rooms of Melancholia dealing with Chechnya copped the prize for documentaries. Documentary filmmaker Harutyun Khatchatryan was a passionate fest chief, putting together a 140title show acclaimed by the international juries. His own new doc, Return of the Poet about local bard Ashugh Jivani, was one of two feature-length Armenian premieres on view. The other was the psychoanalysis drama Mariam directed by Edgar Baghdasaryan. (…) Egoyan: "You can feel the spirit of renewal which has allowed people to rise from the complete devastation of ten years ago. There has been a huge generational shift that is essential for the emergence of a film culture." (…) Source: Variety.com, 24 July 2005, Deborah Young (excerpts) www.gaiff.am ● Alles auf Zucker wins the Lolas (…) Alles auf Zucker, by Dani Levy, won six prizes, including the Golden Lola for Best Film. The 55th German Film Awards turned into a landslide for this comedy about a modern Jewish family in Berlin: it was also distinguished for its script, costumes, music, direction, and earned Henry HŸbchen a Lola as Best Actor. The Silver Lola went to two films, The Edukators by Hans Weingartner and Sophie Scholl – The Last Days, by Mark Rothemund which also won Julia Jentsch the Best Actress award. The best actors in supporting roles are Katja Riemann in Agnès und seine Brüder , by Oskar Roehler, and Burghart Klau§ner for The Edukators, while the Best Children's Film is Lauras Stern by Piet De Rycker and Thilo Rothkirch and the Best Documentary Rhythm is it! by Thomas Grube and Enrique Sanchez Lansch. (…) Source: Cineuropa 11 July 2005, Bénédicte Prot (excerpts) Alles auf Zucker: www.zucker-derfilm.de ● Moscow International Film Festival (excerpts) - Best Director Prize: Thomas Vinterberg, Dear Wendy, Denmark/Germany/UK - Best Film Prize: Dreaming Of Space (Kosmos kak predchuvstvie), director Alexei Uchitel, Russia - Grand Jury Special Prize: Frozen Land (Paha Maa), director Aku Louhimies, Finland www.miff.ru Frozen Land: www.ses.fi www.solarfilms.com Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 2 ● ParisCinéma - Audience Award: El Cielo Gira, director Mercedes Alvarez, Spain www.pariscinema.org ● International Documentary Film Festival of Marseille (excerpts) - Grand Prix: Avenge But One Of My Two Eyes, director Avi Mograbi, Israel/France - French Competition Prize: Oliva Oliva, director Peter Hoffmann, France www.fidmarseille.org ● Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (excerpts) - Grand Prix, Best Director Prize and Best Actress: My Nikifor (Moj Nikifor), director Krzysztof Krauze, Poland - Special Jury Prize and Best Actor ex-aequo: What a wonderful prize, Eyal Halfon, Israel - East of the West Award: Best Film: Ragin, director Kirill Serebrennikov, Russia/Austria Special Mention: The Wedding (Wesele), Wojtek Smarkowski, Poland - Fipresci Award: Chinaman (Kinamand), director Henrik Ruben Genz, Denmark/China www.iffkv.cz My Nikifor: www.nikifor.com.pl ● Brussels European Film Festival (excerpts) - Best Film: Dark Horse (Voksne Mennesker), Director Dagur Kari, Denmark/Iceland - Audience Award: Ordinary Man, Director Vincent Lannoo, Belgium/France www.fffb.be ● Galway Film Fleadh (excerpts) - Best First Feature Film 1st: Pavee Lackeen (The Traveller Girl), director Perry Ogden, Ireland 2nd: Short Order, director Anthony Byrne, Ireland www.galwayfilmfleadh.com ● Motovun Film Festival, Croatia (excerpts) - Best Film and Amnesty International Human Rights Award: The Death of Mr Lazarescu, Cristi Puiu, Romania - Fipresci Award: Day and Night, Simon Staho, Sweden/Denmark - Best film in « Albania to Austria » region: Bal-Can-Can, Darko Mitrevski, Macedonia/Italy - Audience Award: My Summer of love, Pawel Pawlikowski, UK www.motovunfilmfestival.com CINEMA ATTENDANCE ● Cinema attendance plummets in the United States and drops in France With 46.9 million dollars in box office takings during its first weekend of exhibition in North America, from 17 to 20 June, Batman Begins can pride itself on having achieved its objective. But this result will doubtless not be enough to reverse the trend of desertion of cinemas observed in the United States for three years. Even if box office takings are maintained this year, the number of viewers continues to drop, since the average price of a cinema ticket has increased, from 5.39 dollars in 2000, to 6.40 dollars in 2005. Cinema admissions dropped by 4% in 2003, 2% in 2004 and at least 6% this year, even by over 10%, according to some figures. Things are cyclical in the world of the cinema (the last recession dates back to 1985) and some years offer fewer films of great popular appeal. (…) The change in the use of leisure time is a fact. The timescale of the release of a film on DVD, reduced to ten weeks on average, discourages potential viewers from going to the cinema - apart from very attractive films, such as the third episode of Star Wars which had by the end of June accumulated nearly 700 million dollars in box office takings around the world. And competition with other forms of entertainment has become more arduous. 60% of American homes have a DVD player; the quality of digital technology has improved the visual quality of home cinema and, soon, of cinema on the move Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 3 with, for example, Sony’s new PlayStation. In 2004, Americans spent on average seventy eight hours watching DVDs or videos (+ 53% compared with 2000). In the same period, time spent on the Internet increased by 76.6% and on video games, by 20.3%. To check the drop in attendance, exhibitors seek new forms of income: in some cinemas you can now choose your place in the auditorium and even bring an alcoholic drink. In France also, attendance at the cinema has dropped since the beginning of the year. After the 2004 record, the first five months of 2005 show a reduction of 9% (to 75.34 million admissions), according to CNC, the National Cinematographic Centre. More (nearly 12%), according to FNCF, the National Federation of French Cinemas. However, the market share of French films is holding out well (45.7%, compared with 45.3% for American films). (…) Efforts on the part of exhibitors to renovate their cinemas ensure around 180 million viewers on average each year. Thenceforth, everything depends on the bid. Star Wars and Brice de Nice exceeded 6.2 and 4.2 million admissions, respectively. ‘That was not enough to give impetus to the market,’ states Olivier Snanoudj, director of the FNCF. This summer, rather than French feature-length films, it will be mainly American films such as Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds, Doug Liman’s Mr and Mrs Smith, Madagascar or Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Tim Burton which could, according to the CNC, draw massive crowds to French cinemas. Less optimistically, Mr Snanoudj reveals a certain disaffection for American films. (…) ‘One of the problems comes from the increase in the number of releases. Viewers, perturbed by such a situation, vacillate between the big films released as ‘coups’ and all the other feature-length films. So much so that, with over 560 films per year on the screens, you hear endlessly « There is nothing to see »,’ he notes. A very dark pessimism. Source: adapted from Le Monde, 21 Juny 2005, Claudine Mulard and Nicole Vulser ● Portugal. Number of moviegoers dropped (…) According to data announced by ICAM, the first quarter of the year lost 856.259 moviegoers, a reduction of 10,75% compared to the first 6 months of 2004. (…) After the boom at the end of the 1990's, 2002 registered 18,72 million moviegoers and 2003 almost 17 million. A monthly analysis shows that the only month with a positive evolution in terms of admissions was June with a total of 918.051 million moviegoers. A figure justified by the release of large-audience films such as Sin City, Mr & Mrs Smith and Batman. This trend is expected to continue in July due to the release of War of the Worlds. (…) Source: Cineuropa, 20 July 2005, Vitor Pinto (excerpts) ● Norway. 13% dip the first semester 2005 Cinema admissions in Norway declined by almost 13% during the first semester 2005 compared to the same period last year, with 4,5 million admissions from January to the end of June 2005 against 5,2 million the previous year. Box office receipts also dipped by 6,5% during the same period from NOK 350,773,759 (€ 44m) to NOK 327,800,450 (€ 41m) according to figures published by Film & Kino in Norway. According to the Norwegian trade publication, the lack of blockbusters such as the Harry Potter or Lord of The Rings franchises, as well as lower prices for DVDs partly explain such a decrease in cinema attendances. The most popular Norwegian film this year so far is Finding Friends (Venner for livet), a children’s film by Arne Lindtner Næss which sold 186,451 tickets since its February release. The German film Der Untergang (Downfall) is the second most popular film of the year after Star Wars Episode 3 with 261,538 admissions in 23 weeks, while one of its competitors at this year’s Oscars for Best Foreign Language film, the Swedish As It Is In Heaven is also doing well in Norway with 253,663 admissions in 20 weeks. Source: Cineuropa, 18 July 2005, Annika Pham ● Czech Republic. Cinema attendance down by 1.4 million The number of cinema-goers fell considerably in the first half of this year, sliding from 6 million during the same period last year to just 4.63 million so far in 2005, Anna Cerna of the Film Distributors Association told CTK. She added that sales have also decreased sharply, from CZK 553 million to CZK 423.2 million. (…) Cerna attributed the first quarter fall to the lack of blockbusters, and also to Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 4 increasing piracy. Some experts said that the trend may also reflect the growing debt of Czech households which have to reconsider their spending priorities. Last year, cinema attendance fell slightly to 12.05 million from a record 12.14 million the year before. However, because of higher admission prices sales totalled CZK 1.1 billion, or CZK 22 million more than the 2003 record figure. Thanks largely to the arrival of multiplexes, Czech cinemas after 1999 overcame the crisis of the early 1990s. In 1994, cinema attendance fell to 12.9 million from 22 million in 1993. It then remained around 9 million, and was at its lowest at 8.4 million in 1999. It then grew steadily to 12.1 million in 2003. Last year, multiplexes contributed nearly 70 percent of overall sales. (…) Source: Praguemonitor.com, 28 July 2005 (excerpts) GERMANY ● German pix zipping to Net. One-third available online before local bow Two-thirds of all films showing in German cinemas are available for illegal download on the Internet, according to a study carried out by Munich-based copyright protection org Partners 4 Management and the RWTH Aachen U. The study (…) found that one-third of the pics were available before their German bow, with another one-third online by their first weekend in release. According to the "Available-for-Download" report, pirates prefer Hollywood fare: 94% of all U.S. pics were available for illegal download while only 40% of current German films were on offer. Examining 165 films in release between November 2004 and March 2005, the study showed nearly half of the films online stemmed from DVDs from other countries, while 40% came from special jury or press DVD screeners. Most German-language versions, however, had bad sound quality usually recorded in cinemas on microphone. High-profile films that garnered more than 500,000 admissions on their opening weekend -- and which are better protected by distributors -- were usually available online only after their official start. Smaller films with less than 100,000 admissions were generally available before release, according to the survey. Source: Variety.com, 12 July 2005, Ed Meza FRANCE ● Saint-Michel cinema: the son looks on In a black velvet jacket, standing on the pavement opposite the fountain in Place Saint-Michel, Claude Gérard is keeping an eye on the queues waiting for the two films billed: Olivier Zuchuat’s Djorou, une Corde à ton Cou and Jean-Daniel Pollet’s Pour Mémoire. With the cinema which was created by a great-uncle in 1912, the Gérard family has reigned over these cobblestones in Place Saint-Michel for nearly a century now. The cinema, which went on to belong to the grandfather, Gaston, and then to the father, Jean, was inherited by Claude Gérard in 1986. Two years later the cinema burnt down, the victim of arsonists who wanted to prevent the screening of Martin Scorsese’s The Last Temptation of Christ. In 1991, the Saint-Michel cinema arose from its ashes under the name of Espace Saint-Michel. ‘Its name conveys the idea that here, as well as the cinema auditorium, there is a restaurant, a photo lab and a foyer,’ explains the man who continues to be the director of the Saint-Michel. The Gérard family still lives above the film theatre and Claude has just to go down a few steps to take a lightbulb to Anne-Marie, the Vietnamese owner of the restaurant, or to lead a discussion. And so it has been, ever since he was a child. (…) [ In the 1960s ], the cinema was doing well and Gérard father dug deep into a heap of popular films, good quality and otherwise. But the new wave passed wide of the Saint-Michel, apart from Pierrot le Fou, which was shown there in 1966. ‘We used to get over 350,000 admissions per year,’ recalls Claude Gérard. ‘At that time there were only independent cinemas in the area. The film tours did not make the rules.’ (…) After doing a degree in business studies, Claude enrolled at Nanterre in 1968 to study for admission to Idhec film school. The competition was postponed until September because of the events in May… ‘Suddenly, I abandoned my studies!’ He became a lecturer in management at the university and assisted his father until his retirement. Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 5 ‘In 1986, Quick wanted to set up shop at our premises. The rent would have brought in four times as much as the cinema but my father, before he retired, respected my wish to take over the film theatre...’ In the meantime, life had become hard for independent cinemas. Since 1970, fifteen cinemas had been created in Carrefour de l'Odéon (UGC, Gaumont, MK2), which grabbed up most of the film releases. ‘In 1982, it was Victor Victoria by Blake Edwards which bailed us out. Nobody believed in it and it was the Saint-Michel which released it. We had a full house for five weeks!’ The hand of fate, but it did not prevent 21 cinemas from disappearing from the Latin Quarter in just one year, 1986. The Saint-Michel itself became an art house cinema. ‘By force of circumstance,’ jokes Claude Gérard, ‘I do films d’auteur…’ In 1986, he managed to get 37.2 Degrees in the Morning by Beineix (‘thanks to a mate’). He billed this for over a year. After the business with The Last Temptation of Christ, he gave the Saint-Michel a new image with the release of The Lovers on the Bridge (1991) and Bab El-Oued City (1994). ‘We were still getting 125,000 admissions per year!’ Six months ago, however, the Saint-Michel approached the fateful 50,000 admissions mark. ‘Below that, you’re dead!’ The arrival of UGC Cité-Ciné des Halles in 1996 and of unlimited passes in 2000 nearly got the better of the Saint-Michel, luring away 40% of its clientele. ‘Nobody wanted to give me films any more.’ Once again, Claude Gérard found the right answer. In 2002, he joined the unlimited passes network, accepting UGC and Le Pass tickets. Since then, attendance at the Saint-Michel has risen by 20%. Exhibiting, it’s a bit of a gamble!’ A gamble which has gained increasing meaning for this decidedly anarchistic man of sixty something. ‘This summer, I read Orwell... I should read more often! And I realised that my scheduling goes against that totalitarian universe which he describes.’ Today at the Saint-Michel you can see documentaries (such as Henri-François Imbert’s No Pasaran, Souvenir Album), altermilitant films (such as Vincent Glenn’s Pas assez de Volume! – Notes sur l’OMC), delicate films (such as Disneyland mon vieux pays natal by Arnaud des Pallières) and foreign films (such as Tabous – Zohre & Manouchehr by Mitra Farahani), which he does not hesitate to bill for several weeks… Edvard Munch, the film by Peter Watkins, has achieved nearly 10,000 admissions since 2 February. ‘Such a figure would make a multiplex director laugh, but for me, it’s good. I have to fight for the films I show, but I would no longer fight for a Woody Allen, not any more! And I don’t even know whether I would still like to show a film by, say, Michael Moore.’ Source: adapted from Libération, 29 Juny 2005, Annick Peigne-July (excerpts) [ L’Espace Saint-Michel has been a member of Europa Cinemas since 1993] ● Independents join forces through Dire Following its departure from the FNDF (National Federation of French Distributors), the Club des Cinq has created an association, Dire, with four other independents It took a month for the Club des Cinq, a group of film distribution companies, and the four distributors who joined with them to create their association, named Dire (Independent European Distributors). Thus this new organisation unites ARP Sélection, Bac Films, Diaphana, Les Films du Losange, Haut et Court, ID Distribution, Pan-Européenne, Pyramide and Rézo Films. (…) The distributors involved define themselves as independents since they have no link with TV channels or cinema circuits. (…) They emphasize their role in ‘the creation of a living and plural culture’ and their involvement in French cinema. They thus make it clear that they work ‘to promote the French, European and worldwide film industries in the face of the dangers posed to creativity by uniformity.’ And they stress that they distributed 157 French films between 2001 and 2004, films ‘fervently protected as much by guaranteed minimum income as by the budgets allocated to their release.’ When Dire was created, they requested a ‘real undertaking on the part of cinemas vis-à-vis films (showing of trailers, length of exhibition and animation)’. They also stress that they come up against ‘real difficulties getting [their] films purchased by television channels’ and use this point to expose the abuses of integration since these aforementioned channels have become distributors to cinemas’. (…) According to them, ‘assistance for distribution does not take into account either the huge developments within the sector (such as the increase in the number of prints and the enormous inflation of release budgets) nor the dominant position of the groups’. By way of conclusion, the members of Dire recall their ‘trust in the public’s curiosity, the power of word of mouth and their wish for the Europe of tomorrow to have a culture of diversity and openness to the world’. Source: adapted from Le Film français, 24 Juny 2005, Anthony Bobeau (excerpts) Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 6 NETHERLANDS ● Arthouse trend boosts declining Dutch box office (…) Second-quarter figures for the box office in the Netherlands were down 17.5% year-on-year. They had already slipped by 15% in Q1. But it's a mixed picture with Hollywood blockbusters underperforming compared to last year, while independent titles are finding new audiences. "The interest in mainstream features has declined dramatically. However, the popularity of art house titles has been growing explosively," says Pim Hermeling, managing director of A-Film Distribution, the Netherlands' biggest independent distributor. "Downfall ($2.5m [Euro 2.1m]) has been one of the best performing films recently." Other notable performances have come from Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind ($0.96m), Million Dollar Baby ($1.7m) and Dutch foreign-language Oscar submission Simon ($1.6m). Hermeling suggests many teenage moviegoers are losing their interest in theatrical screenings while adults over 25 "are looking for another sort of film than the regular Hollywood blockbuster." Pathe Cinemas, which operates more than 100 screens in the Netherlands, has adjusted its policy towards these titles positively. "Our frequent visitors have been coming to our theatres for the last 10 years," says managing director Lauge Nielsen. "They are getting older and therefore their taste in films is changing. We have to offer them an alternative, which means less films that are connected to Hollywood. If we do not act on that signal we will lose them to the art-house cinemas." Source: Screendaily.com, 12July 2005, Robbert Blokland (excerpts) POLAND ● New law, new resources The new law over the financing of Polish Film Industry will come into force on 22 July, in spite of the controversies and protests from private TV channels. (…) While the project was ready, exhibitors and TV channels which will be given a predominant role by the law regarding film production financing, rallied in order to hold up the legislative works. The Minister of Culture, Waldemar Dabrowski, as well as the Polish film authorities (with Andrzej Wajda, Agnieszka Holland and Krzysztof Zanussi in front position) have nevertheless managed to convince Polish deputies to vote in favour. In accordance with the European Union Directive 'Television without Frontiers', the new law forces all agents involved in cinema to pay a 1.5 % tax for cinema production as from 1st January, 2006. Among others, the tax applies to box-office takings, DVD and video sales and rental, advertising, subscription to digital platform channels, and public channels licence fees. Those new resources aimed at cinema are estimated at 75m zlotys (almost 20m euros) compared to a budget amounting to 37m (almost 10m euros) in 2005 coming from the Ministry of Culture, which represents a 100% increase. The new law also creates the Polish Film Institute which will coordinate the Polish film industry's activity and grant its support to projects. (…) The Institute must back films during development, production and distribution stages. It also must support debut projects as well as promote Polish cinema on the international market. (…) Source: Cineuropa, 13 July 2005, Dorota Hartwich (excerpts) UNITED KINGDOM ● British first films: films d’auteur are disappearing The gap is widening between large-budget first films and first films d’auteur… BBC Films alone continues to encourage artistic creativity. (…) ‘Among first films, there are those based on artistic creativity and those whose main objective is to bring in money. For these latter films, financiers prefer to go for young directors who may have no experience in cinema but who have already proved themselves in the world of television (mainly sitcoms and comedy series), music videos or commercials. The risk is marginal since these films generally have, to begin with, a very well polished script and a very well-known cast,’ explains Tracey Scoffield, who is in charge of development at BBC Films, the last bastion of artistic creativity in Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 7 Britain. In fact, the successful first films of the last few years such as Bridget Jones’s Diary, Love Actually, Ladies in Lavender or even The Mean Machine, show that we are in the presence of hardened entertainment professionals who have come to rub shoulders with the camera (…). The other English film industry, that of first films d’auteur, survives beneath this iceberg. Just BBC Films and several very rare distributors such as Verve, Tartan, Artificial Eye and ICA support the work of these filmmakers who are, however, recognised at festivals throughout the world. (…) Nearly all of the greatest “young talents“ of British cinema have gone through BBC Films, such as Paul Pawlikowski (whose fourth film, My Summer of Love, has just been released in France), Emily Young, Sarah Gavron, Francesca Joseph, Dominic Savage, David McKenzie and Lynne Ramsay. Despite good successes and, above all, recognition by international critics, the situation appears to be worsening for these British filmmakers. ‘Take a film such as My Summer of Love. Despite universal acclaim, box office takings in Britain did not exceed £1 million. Distributors and exhibitors no longer wish to take any risks. The directors of cinema chains tell us “I loved your film… I’ll have two prints” ‘. Source: adapted from Le Film français, 08 July 2005, Agnès Catherine Poirier (excerpts) ● EasyCinema eyes West End debut (…) Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the entrepreneur who launched easyJet, is planning to expand his low-cost cinema chain into the West End after making an offer for part of the Marquee club in Leicester Square. EasyCinema, which started with a multiplex in Milton Keynes in 2003, had a troubled genesis but is now more successful. After settling a long dispute with cinema distributors it is able to show first-run blockbuster films at discounted prices. If Mr Haji-Ioannou succeeds in opening a West End branch it will affect other cinema owners in the square, who charge a premium price because of their location. The pricing model is based on that used by the airline founded by Mr Haji-Ioannou, with customers rewarded for booking early through the website. Seats for less popular screenings are much cheaper than for Saturday night blockbusters. The original vision of charging as little as 20p a seat has been modified to secure the distribution deals, but in Milton Keynes the top-price tickets are £4.50 and popcorn costs £1. (…) Source: Guardian.co.uk, 25 July 2005, Owen Gibson (excerpt) www.easycinema.com ALGERIA ● Who remembers the cinema in Oran? There is no working cinema in the westerly capital. ‘I have never been to a film screening at the cinema!’ It may seem an astounding admission but it is no less than the dramatic reality. At the age of 15 Karim, a high school student who owns a computer and cable TV, has never experienced the feelings you get from a cinema screening with its giant screen, its individual sound system and its intermissions. ‘The only time I was in El Mansourah [exLynx, located in the Miramar area in the city centre], we were offered a very poor quality film on video, in a sleazy environment.’ The only cinema which was still open a few months ago, in this case the Cinémathèque, is undergoing reorganization work and should reopen at the end of the summer. The others – those which the council gave back to private individuals in the middle of the 1980s – have changed use and only occasionally open their doors, for elections or very rare artistic receptions. Some, such as El Murdjadjo (ex-Balzac) or El Hoggar have been turned into games rooms or cafés, in full sight and knowledge of the strangely quiet authorities. Equally strangely, the last attempt to save the cinema was made by private individuals who, thanks to substantial investments, undertook renovation and restoration work at some film theatres. This was particularly the case with the Lynx cinema which, at the end of the 1980s, offered thousands of cinema lovers a new look: new rows of seats, a small café and all those little things which make a film screening enjoyable. But hope was short-lived and, after a few months, the Lynx fell into ruin again. Today, the only cinemas which still survive resort to video projections with their blurred images and, for some screenings, films peppered with soft porn scenes, served up to unemployed youths who don’t have the option of digital television. (…) Source: adapted from La Tribune, 14 July 2005, Samir Ould Ali (excerpts) Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 8 MOROCCO ● The CCM is launched on the Internet: a site just for Moroccan cinema www.ccm.ma was launched just five days ago. The organisation behind the launch, that is, the Moroccan Cinema Centre, dedicates it to professionals and amateurs. (…) In particular the site makes available to us the list of forthcoming festivals including the Azrou Summer Moroccan Short Film Encounter, organised by the Children’s and Youth CineClub Association in July 2005. The Festival of African Cinema in Khouribga is another event planned for 2006. Organised by the Marrakech International Film Festival Foundation, the Festival itself will take place in November 2005. In May 2006 the city of Méknès will celebrate its International Festival of Animated Cinema. The CCM itself is preparing the National Film Festival which will take place in December 2005. And, finally, the festivals of Safi (Lumières de Safi in July 2005), Salé (Ecrans de Femmes in September 2006), Tangiers (Mediterranean Short Film Festival in Tangiers in September 2005) and Tetuan (International Festival of Mediterranean Cinema in Tetuan in April 2007). (…) Source: adapted from Albayane.ma, 03 July 2005 (excerpts) www.ccm.ma TUNISIA ● A look back at the 2004-2005 cinematographic season Still happy that the beginning of the 2004-2005 film season was marked by the Carthage Film Festival (JCC 2004). (…) This Afro-Arab event was an almost unique opportunity for Tunisian cinema lovers and the public to discover recent film productions from across the continent, and to discuss and debate it. (…) But the JCC biennial aside, how was this season characterised in terms of production, exhibition and film animation? (…) Films produced between the summer and autumn of 2004 were created thanks to assistance for production granted in 2003, even 2002. These films include Khaled Barsaoui’s Bin el widyène, Moncef Dhoui’s La télé arrive, Jilani Essaâdi’s Les noces du loup, Selma Baccar’s Khochkhach and Nouri Bouzid’s Kamikaze, which were filmed during that time. But, unfortunately, once they were produced, these films generally stumbled into the many financial obstacles and difficulties of the post-production period, which has become an exhausting operation for filmmakers. So roll on the opening of the ‘LTC Gammarth’ laboratories which is scheduled, all being well, for the autumn of 2005 (…). Nevertheless, (…) producers and filmmakers are less and less likely to see their production billed, the distribution and exhibition phase having become so complicated (…). In proof, of the five feature-length films ready for distribution and exhibition at the end of September 2004, Mohamed Zran’s Le Prince alone has overcome this increasingly difficult hurdle by effecting a national release. Of the others, Mokhtar Laâjimi’s Bab el arch and Moëz Kammoun’s Parole d'hommes, in particular, are still waiting on the shelves for possible release to our screens. The fact is that (…) cinema owners balk increasingly at scheduling local films which, according to them, ‘no longer draw, as was the case in the 1990s, the wider public as in the old days’. Which gives rise to caution in distributing Tunisian films, since this operation requires a judicious and well thought out promotion campaign to attract the masses. And the example of Le Prince, which was relatively successful in relation to the latest Tunisian releases which were not able to exceed 10,000 viewers in five or six cinemas, is sufficient explanation, since it drew over 50,000 viewers during more than ten weeks of exhibition. (…) But all the same, one swallow does not make a summer, for the exhibition sector is without doubt undergoing a real crisis as a result of the drop in attendance. Cinemas no longer attract the general public as they did before. (…) Several solutions have been proposed to face down the crisis including, in particular, the creation of multiplexes in the outskirts and suburbs of large cities. But despite state aid (…) to maintain cinemas, the total number of film theatres is shrinking increasingly and there are now no more than 20. (…) Moreover, it is true that distributors and exhibitors should pay more attention to the quality of films distributed by offering key films of excellent repute as well as more selective screenings which draw the public, such as the ‘Tunisian Short Film Days’ proposed by Le Mondial cinema [supported by Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 9 Europa Cinemas as part of the Euromed Audiovisual Programme], and the ‘European Cinematographic Days’ in Tunis, Sousse, Bizerte and Sfax, etc. Because, by placing too much reliance on the neverending Egyptian comedy films with Adel Imam and El Heneidi or other films like Halet hob to solve financial problems, cinema owners risk satisfying only a minute part of their public and alienating the majority. While of European and American films, only several works have retained our attention: Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill: Vol. 2, François Ozon’s Swimming Pool, J.-P. Jeunet’s A Very Long Engagement, Ali Nasser’s In the Ninth Month, Clint Eastwood’s Mystic River and Tony Gatlif’s Exiles. The rest are mainly action films and thrillers from the Hollywood mould. (…) Finally, in terms of animation and action films, several moments and events [were organised by] cineclubs, particularly the new ‘Ciné El Hamra’ club, and foreign cultural centres, particularly the French Institute of Co-operation (IFC) and the Goethe Institute, which have offered film seasons and homages allowing both discovery (of films and directors) and great cinematographic enjoyment. (…) Source: adapted from La Presse (Tunis), 25 Juny 2005, Samira Dami (excerpts) BURKINA FASO ● Minors in videoclubs: At the school of corruption Videoclubs have robbed Ouagadougou of cinemas, evidenced by their multiplication in mainly outlying suburbs. To cap it all, these ‘dark rooms’ of another genre are offering films which are in no way educational to viewers, especially the very young. This expansion of videoclubs often takes place regardless of the prevailing laws. (…) Despite the lack of statistics, Ismaël Ouédraogo, the director of the state-run film organization Direction de la Cinématographie Nationale (DCN), acknowledges that this proliferation is attributable to the current situation with the former national film company (SONACIB) in Burkina-Faso. ‘People in Burkina-Faso are great cinema lovers. However, there are not enough film theatres in the suburbs. The city is spreading more and more and cinemas remain clustered in the city centre,’ he explains. (…) So videoclubs appear to be a palliative to bring cinema to the people. You could call them a wonderful civic vision. However, videoclubs cause enormous problems in suburbs because they do not respect the standards laid down by the DCN. According to Mr Ouédraogo, opening a projection room is conditional upon a request addressed to the council authorities who determine whether or not the place is appropriate for such an activity. Following the construction or conversion of the cinema, the Department of Infrastructure and the DCN must inspect (…). After all these measures the professional licence may be issued. (…). Laws also protect minors from certain films screened in cinemas. (…) But the reality is quite different. When investigating on the ground, we realized that out of ten working videoclubs, just six had the autorisation to operate. Of these six, the licences of two managers had expired. As for regulations on the access of minors to certain films as stipulated by the law, these have never been respected by videoclub managers. All films are accessible to all age groups. Construction standards having been disregarded, videoclubs create real headaches for neighbourhoods. ‘The noise from videoclubs drowns us and it becomes unbearable. (…) The noise is so disturbing that our children have to leave the house to go and study elsewhere,’ confides Ali Bélem, the neighbour of a videoclub in sector 17. Mr Ouédraogo, head of DCN, does not seem to be unaware of these irregularities. However, the lack of resources for inspections and night checks means that the DCN does not manage to carry out its function of inspection. (…) The unemployment rate in Burkina-Faso is over 50%. Considering this figure, which rises each year, you have every right to wonder whether the anarchic proliferation of videoclubs which provide jobs is not the lesser evil. (…) Paul, the manager of a videoclub in sector 16, emphasises that videoclubs, as well as generating jobs, provide income to the state. ‘We pay 50,000F per year to the tax department. We pay royalties to BBDA, the royalties office,’ he confirms. From a social point of view, Paul believes that it is preferable for young people to spend time in a videoclub rather than in a bar where they are exposed to many vices. Mrs Ouédraogo, a housewife in sector 17, shares this view and adds that ‘a child at the videoclub does not get into trouble, you know where he is, well protected from the threatening Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 10 outside world which is full of reckless drivers, yobs and criminals.’ Strange arguments which do not take into account the harmful and dangerous content of some films shown. We arrived at ‘Espace Videoclub’ at 9 o’clock in the morning. The club is hidden behind a six metre fence in sector 17. On the bill of a horror film there is a theoretical ban to under 16s. But to our great surprise the auditorium was over three-quarters full of minors. What was even more surprising was that this was a school day, Friday, and nearly all the viewers were pupils. (…) The admission price is relatively low, 25F for the afternoon screening and 50F for the evening one. (…) Having visited several videoclubs, we can say that the films scheduled are solely war, horror, action, erotic and even completely pornographic films. African films are almost completely non-existent. When asked why, Paul revealed that it is these films which bring greatest takings. (…) In the psychiatric department at Yalgado hospital, Mrs Saguin states that they have on average 300 outpatients and 10 hospitalisations per month. She adds that most pathological ailments are genetic, traumatic or tumoral in origin. But the majority are psychopaths, that is, people who from an early age have felt a lack of affection and who have been attacked one way or another particularly by violent images. ‘Increasingly, parents no longer have time for their children. They are left to themselves and the television becomes their best friend, thus exposing them to violence and personality problems very early on,’ she acknowledges. The opening of the psychiatric centre for children and adolescents in 2005 is very telling. Apart from mental health, Mrs Saguin observes that videoclubs and television in general have a negative impact on children’s physical health and their studies. (…) Mr Ali Bélem is categorical and believes that videoclubs should be closed because they do more harm than good. Mrs Ouédraogo herself believes that, rather, times should be found for children and that they shouldn’t be allowed to watch violent and pornographic films. In all cases, Mr Ismaël Ouédraogo assures that the new law regulating public screenings will solve the problem. Source: adapted from Africatime.com / Sidwaya, 23 Juny 2005, Pauline Yameogo (excerpts) SOME FESTIVALS TO COME… Locarno International Film Festival, Switzerland – 3-13/08 www.pardo.ch Edinburgh International Film Festival, Scotland – 17-28/08 www.edfilmfest.org.uk Copenhagen International Film Festival, Denmark - 18-28/08 www.copenhagenfilmfestival.com Haugesund – The Norwegian International Film Festival - 19-26/08 www.filmfestivalen.no Sarajevo International Film Festival, Bosnia and Herzegovina – 19-27/08 www.sff.ba Venice International Film Festival, Italia - 31/08-10/09 www.labiennale.org Trade Press Review jbselliez@europa-cinemas.org www.europa-cinemas.org Europa Cinemas – Trade Press Review – Wednesday 3 August 2005 11