15-11-2022

Croatian Kinoteka Joins Europa Cinemas

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    Kinoteka Croatia Kinoteka Croatia credit: KINO MREŽA

    ZAGREB: Croatian cinema Kinoteka, run by the August Cesarac Centre for Culture and Film with support from the City of Zagreb and the Croatian Audiovisual Centre, has become the 17th Croatian cinema to join the Europa Cinemas network.

    Situated in the Zagreb city centre, Kinoteka is the home of cinephiles in search for well-curated retrospectives, public talks and a steady repertoire of contemporary art house film. It was considered a cult cinema in the second half of the 20th century, and it is rising to its old fame under the artistic leadership of Mario Kozina, a curator and film critic who took over the programming in January 2020.

    "Despite the pandemic that reduced our cinema's capacity by a third, the total number of viewers is 40% higher than in 2021. This confirms that the cinema is increasingly attracting a new generation of audiences. Kinoteka has a special place on Zagreb's cultural scene, and being accepted as a member of the Europa Cinemas network proves that the cinema's programme is also internationally relevant," said Maja Jurić Ivoš, the director of the August Cesarac Centre for Culture and Film, which has been managing the Kinoteka cinema since 2017.

    Kinoteka’s membership in the Europa Cinemas network was considered in the first six months of 2022, during which it was necessary to fulfill several requirements. The programme criteria prescribe a minimum of 37% of European films in the repertoire, of which 70% are premiere distribution titles. In the mentioned period, the Kinoteka cinema showed 52% of European film screenings, of which 81% were premieres. The other criteria related to minimum attendance - for membership it is necessary to fulfill the condition of 7,500 viewers, and the film programmes at the Kinoteka were visited by about 8,500 viewers in the observed period.

    Kinoteka is also a member of the Croatian Indepedent Cinemas Network.