10/05/2010

There is light at the end of the tunnel for the digitisation of movie theatres in Germany. The Government Commissioner for Culture and Media (BKM), Bernd Neumann, presented his proposal at a film forum organised by his political party, the Christian Democrats.

The idea is to develop, in co-operation with the German Federal Film Board (FFA), a funding system whose aim is to maintain the country’s total number of movie screens and which should come into being this summer. The intention is that community cinemas, arthouse theatres and those in particularly difficult circumstances, like those operating in small towns, i.e. with lower profitability, can undertake the changes necessary for the switch to digital.

Neumann said he was relying on the Länder (states) to launch similar programmes, in a joint effort where distributors, who at the end of the day will benefit most from the end of celluloid, “are obliged to contribute financially”.

In its 2010 budget, the BKM included €4m for this purpose. Now all that can be hoped for is that there will not be another disagreement like in 2009, when representatives from the distribution sector left the negotiating table. According to Neumann, however, “distributors have shown willingness and we are therefore confident we can come up with a funding model” for digital cinema.

(Translated from Spanish)