The Kriterion film theater at Roetersstraat is celebrating its 75th anniversary. The student cinema was founded on November 6, 1945 by members of a resistance group. Autonomy and equality became the core values. Now, 75 years later, that thought is still the same.
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‘The original idea was to stay open for 75 hours and actually fill the weekend with films and parties,’ says employee Esca van Blarikom. The extensive celebration of the anniversary is no longer possible this year due to corona. The festivities will be postponed to a later date.
Amsterdam Student Group
Founders Piet Meerburg and Wouter van Zeytveld were leaders of the Amsterdam Student Group. During World War II they played an important role in the resistance. ‘He smuggled the Jewish children out of a crèche opposite the Hollandse Schouwburg. They would then take them to Limburg or Friesland to have them go into hiding, ‘says employee Anna Boogaard.
Independent income
Many members of the resistance group had to stop their studies during the war, there was no time for that anymore. After the liberation, they wanted to return to university, but not with the help of outsiders. ‘They had become very independent through the resistance and wanted to be free from the state and their parents,’ says Boogaard.
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‘Everyone who worked here after the war had also been a member of the resistance, in different groups’
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In 1982 the students occupied the building. ‘There was a conflict between the students and the Kriterion foundation,’ says Van Blarikom. ‘The students wanted more say about the film programming and secretly shot films when the film programmer was in Cannes and that led to serious arguments.’
Occupation
Because the films that were shot were controversial, like Stanley Kubrick’s Lolita, but turned out to be very popular. ‘The students lived in this building for six weeks. They slept on the floor in the hallway. Ultimately, the building was rented by the foundation, but the foundation no longer had a say in the management of the association, ‘says Van Blarikom.
Even now, the students still do everything themselves and also receive equal voting rights and pay. But films are not being shown now, because since last week, Kriterion’s cinemas also had to close.
Head above water
According to Van Blarikom, this does not mean the end of Kriterion. ‘We are still keeping our heads above water for the time being. We are in a good position as a cultural institution because we have relatively low costs. But of course we are concerned about the future, because if things continue like this it will be in jeopardy. ‘
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