“I’m really excited,” confessed theater director Stephan Häfner on the opening day. After months of empty cinema seats, it was a great feeling for the passionate cinema connoisseur to finally welcome guests at the box office of Cineplanet5 in Bad Segeberg.
“It’s nice to see people here again,” adds Saskia Häfner. “People feel like going to the cinema.” It is true that the operators are still a long way from achieving any notable utilization. But at least they are allowed to allocate 20 percent of the seats.
Better to be more distant than to wear a mask on site
“We should even go up to 50 percent,” explains Saskia Häfner. But that would only be possible if the moviegoers kept their masks on. This would mean that snacks would not be possible during the cinema screening. The Häfners decided not to go below the distance of 1.5 meters. “You can’t go to the cinema without popcorn,” says Saskia Häfner.
“We want our guests to feel comfortable.” This is another reason why the operators do not want to pack the halls as full as possible. Sufficient distance, a delicious ice cream in hand and just enjoying a film on a big screen – that was what many people lacked.
Moviegoers were looking forward to the reopening
“We almost always go to the cinema in Bad Segeberg,” says Anrt Lülwes. The Henstedt-Ulzburger is a regular guest at CinePlanet5 together with his wife Astrid. “It’s small and cozy here.” The big cinema chains in Norderstedt or Hamburg are not for the couple. They feel much more comfortable in Bad Segeberg. On the last opening day last year, Lülwes were also in CP5.
The two had found out through the cinema newsletter that it was now possible to go to the cinema again. The decision was made immediately: “We’ll be there when it reopens.” They show incomprehension with regard to the decision of the politicians to close the cinemas since November. With the appropriate ventilation and sufficient space, in her opinion, going to the cinema would have been possible earlier.
Daniela and Achim Trapp from Quaal are also among the first moviegoers on the day of the reopening. “We were in the cinema for the last time in early 2020.” The couple is happy to be able to take a seat in the cinema seat again. They also found out about the opportunity through the newsletter.
Despite the requirements – operators are highly motivated
“We are breaking new ground,” explains Stephan Häfner. The operators had not yet had any experience with tracking contacts via an app and checking the necessary tests, vaccination cards or evidence of recovery. Despite the additional effort, the Häfners are motivated. The feedback from visitors helps them with this. “The reactions are consistently positive.”
Also read:Corona situation in the Segeberg district
So far, the CP5 has only been open for three performances a day from Friday to Sunday. From July onwards, regular operations should run again every day of the week. Then more new films will come out again. The filmmakers had so far held back with the launches.
