The city of Zagreb has announced that the Kino Europa cinema, which it owns and which is the only art cinema in the Croatian capital, will close on June 1st. The city’s contract with the Zagreb Film Festival (ZFF), which manages the cinema, will not be renewed so that renovation work can be carried out.
Following this announcement there were many demonstrations in Zagreb. In addition to the strong mobilization of cinema-goers, ZFF director Boris Matić and film director Hrvoje Laurenta received messages of support from filmmakers and directors of international festivals, such as the Sarajevo Film Festival and the Ljubljana International Film Festival.
Built in 1928, Kino Europa was purchased by the city in 2007. A year later the day-to-day management was entrusted to the Zagreb Film Festival. Housed in a listed building, the cinema quickly became a key venue in Zagreb’s cultural life. It alone accounts for 60% of the total attendance of the Croatian independent cinema network, a figure largely due to hosting international events.
The director of the Europa Cinemas network, Claude-Eric Poiroux, sent a letter of support to Croatian cinema: “We deeply regret that the very existence of the Kino Europa is threatened in its tenth year as a Europa Cinemas member, though fully functioning and highly successful! We believe that Kino Europa fully deserves support from its tutelary institutions.”
In 2016 Europa Cinemas awarded Kino Europa the prize for best programming, beating the network’s 1,078 other member cinemas. Claude-Eric Poiroux also praised the skills of the cinema’s team, emphasising its influence beyond Croatian borders.
Meanwhile the mayor of Zagreb, Milan Bandić, indicated the building’s activity would remain unchanged after the renovation. He also announced that a new call for tenders will be launched, to which the Zagreb Film Festival can respond.
Sources: https://cineuropa.orghttps://www.courrierdesbalkans.fr, https://www.europa-cinemas.org
