At the moment Tetouan has two cinemas, the Avenida and the Teatro Español. However very soon the town which is hosting the International Festival of Mediterranean Cinema will only have one. Indeed, the Spanish news agency EFE announced that Teatro Español, built in 1930 and converted into a cinema in the 1950’s, would be closing its doors at the end of February. There are many reasons for this: declining audiences, increasing maintenance costs, competition from satellite channels and film piracy all undermine its viability. Despite mobilizing people against the closure with a facebook page and an online petition, no solution has yet been found. The closure is one more in a list of recent closures in a country which now has only 26 cinemas left.
Sources: telquel.ma et leconomiste.com
