Director urges Romanian government to save cinemas

Celebrated Romanian filmmaker Cristian Mungiu has asked the government to implement measures to save Romania’s cinemas, which have dwindled in number in recent years.

“We ask the government to finally have a clear plan for restoring the country’s cinemas. [...] It is not fair that the cinema industry is always last on the list of cultural priorities in Romania,” said Mungiu, winner of the Cannes Palme d’Or in 2007, claiming to speak on behalf of Romanian filmmakers.

Mungiu’s plea comes in the wake of the closure of the last three large cinemas in Bucharest, shut because they were housed in buildings considered to be at high risk of damage from earthquakes.

“We understand the government’s decision to protect people, but the government also has the obligation to ensure film lovers a proper place to watch Romanian and other non-mainstream Hollywood-style movies,” Mungiu stated, referring to a recently passed law that prohibits cinemas and certain other amenities from being located in buildings at high risk of earthquake damage.

According to BIRN, Romania has the smallest number of cinemas per head of any country in Europe, with more than 400 having closed since 1990 and less than 50 remaining. Many of those in operation lack modern facilities and are not equipped to show digital films. Although privately-owned multiplex cinemas have appeared in larger cities in recent years, they rarely screen locally made or non-mainstream films.

Cristian Mungiu is best known for directing 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, which won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 2007, and Beyond the Hills (2012), for which he won Best Screenplay at Cannes in 2007.

Source: BIRN