07/10/2008

The Ministry of Culture, KIPA (Audiovisual Producers’ Association), SFP (Polish Filmmakers’ Association), Polish Audiovisual Centre Foundation and the regional authorities are the main partners of an initiative to promote a national programme for the Polish film industry’s transition to digital. Commitment on a regional level will be essential for one of the major objectives is the protection of small provincial movie theatres that are today powerless in the face of the technological advancement of multiplexes.

Multiplexes now account for 70% of admissions in Polish theatres. Their dominance is felt in different ways: in the quality of the equipment and screenings and their access to the most commercially attractive films. There are now around 500 small movie theatres (located outside large cities) and they continue to decrease in number. They remain powerless against the hegemony of multiplexes which have already begun to convert to digital.

This imbalance doesn’t just affect local cinema owners but constitutes a social problem. The reduction in the number of provincial theatres often leads to a limitation in access to film, which could result in the cultural isolation of regions.

As predicted by KIPA Secretary General Jacek Wilczynski at the recent Gdynia Polish Film Festival, 35mm prints will have almost disappeared within two years. According to estimations, the national programme will need to support at least 350 theatres in their transition to digital projection.

However, the question of financing has not yet been completely resolved. Minister of Culture Bogdan Zdrojewski has already guaranteed funding and €2m over three years will be provided by the PISF (Polish Film Institute), but the different regions will have to play an important financing role and other partners are expected to get involved.

(Translated from French)