Kimco Realty has signed a lease with River Oaks Theatre, an affiliate of Star Cinema Grill in Houston, and plans to preserve the theatre’s history and Art Deco design, as well as its name, River Oaks Theatre, while also enhancing the cinema experience with a focus on unmatched hospitality, high-quality food and beverages, flawless presentation, and other cutting-edge theatre amenities.
The Göteborg Film Festival is introducing The Hypnotic Cinema – what the organizers are calling “a mind-bending experiment where visitors are challenged to lose control in the cinema by being hypnotized.” The Hypnotic Cinema examines the possibility to intensify the film experience for those courageous visitors who dare to let loose in the cinema. This year’s festival is being held January 28 through February 6 in Gothenburg, Sweden.
The Cherokee Nation Film Office, Circle Cinema and FireThief Productions are presenting free screenings of the Native Veteran Shorts program. In honor of Native American Heritage Month, the special screenings will feature seven short documentaries from the Emmy-winning series Osiyo, Voices of the Cherokee People, spotlighting the work and service of Indigenous veterans.
Social cinema platform Kinema today announces its launch of a new fully integrated and secure live video broadcasting tool into its virtual Kinema cinematic experience. This combines high-quality, live streaming technology with an advanced film play experience and easy-to-navigate controls. This proprietary feature, an entertainment industry first, gives screening hosts, exhibition partners, filmmakers and talent access to a single source of seamless and easy-to-use tools, enabling them to engage with their audience during live Q&As and film screenings hosted on the Kinema platform.
Roadside Attractions and Samuel Goldwyn Films have acquired writer/director Valérie Lemercier's film Aline for an early 2022 U.S. theatrical release. Lemercier also plays the title character at ages 5, 12 and into adulthood.
The Athena Cinema in Athens, Ohio, has introduced a new film series focused on providing an accessible theatre experience for visitors that features screenings of contemporary independent films. Each Saturday in September, the theatre will feature a limited one-time-only screening of a contemporary art film. In addition to showcasing independent films, the Athena Cinema will create events that are inclusive for all, including for individuals who find traditional films screenings uncomfortable or inaccessible due to the atmosphere.
A new digital platform with the working title Cinnovate has secured € 380.000 funding through the European Union programme Cinemas as Innovation Hubs for Local Communities. The effort’s partners include four of Europe’s leading arthouse cinema networks – Folkets Hus och Parker, Folkets Bio (both from Sweden), Access Cinema (Ireland) and Art kino mreža Slovenije (Slowenia) – that together count 308 screens in three territories and will be coordinated by Cologne-based video-on-demand and digital distribution experts Rushlake Media and independent consultant Jan Runge. Additional content and network partners are the Event Cinema Association (United Kingdom), Spielfabrique (Germany) and IMZ International Music + Media Centre (Austria).
Draken Film, Sweden’s leading streaming service for art house cinema, has launched an initiative to coax audiences back into theatres in a unique collaboration with the country’s cinemas, as they prepare to re-open after months-long closures. Starting today, Draken Film subscribers will have access to the opening weekend screenings of a hand picked selection of new releases as part of their monthly subscription offer.
German-Swiss distributor DCM Film Distribution has moved into exhibition with the acquisition of a minority stake in Zurich-based exhibitor Arthouse Commercio Movie. It has assumed operational responsibilities for the programming, PR and marketing for the seven screens in five locations in the Swiss city.
This is not an article I ever wanted to write. As virtually the entire world copes with the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses everywhere have tried to find ways to survive. This is particularly true of the cinema business where nearly every movie theatre has been closed – properly, for the sake of public health – by government mandate. Hardest hit have been small, independent theatres and art house cinemas. Now I have to share the news that among them, the Bethel Cinema, my local movie theatre, is shutting its doors for good.
