from Markus Tschiedert
March 14, 2021, 11:30 p.m.
The chairman of the AG Kino is certain that films like “Parasite” would not have worked without the curation of the cinemas. Streaming services is available to Dr. Bräuer is open to him, but he criticizes the algorithms that services like Netflix do not disclose.
Cinema lights. To you:?? ?? Under this slogan the lights went on in all cinemas inside and outside nationwide on Sunday, February 28th. The industry, which has been suffering from lockdown for four months, wants to set an example? to the people who finally need culture again, and to politics to gain an open perspective. This campaign is of course also supported by the AG Kino, an association that represents the interests of art film theaters. We spoke to the chairman, Dr. Christian Bräuer, who is also the managing director of Yorck Kino GmbH, talks about perspectives, changes and the future of the places where watching films is still the most beautiful.
In Germany, the cinemas have been closed since November 2020. Will the industry ever recover?
In the long term, I am quite optimistic. We all know that the world is different after the pandemic. At the moment, however, the film market is still completely paralyzed as far as cinemas are concerned. Because not only in Germany, but in many parts of the world, including large parts of the USA, the cinemas are still closed while the streaming services continue. Of course, a lot is shifting there.
That sounds worrying at first?
But the cinema has often faced new challenges. First came television, then videotape, then cyber piracy, and now it’s streaming services. Even so, cinema had held its own very well in the years before the pandemic.
So the streaming services cannot completely replace the cinema?
The cinema has an unmistakable advantage and that is analog space in a digital age. This is full of prerequisites because it is of course expensive, such as maintaining the building. You have to have many people in the same place at the same time, but storytelling in public spaces is a great need that has existed and is still there. That will not be washed away by the pandemic and digitization. That creates culture and fits human DNA.
So cinema remains the premier class?
Even after the crisis, you will still be able to earn money with cinema. I think there will continue to be an interest because wherever you can make money there will always be players who want to make money. If we look back on 2019, such phenomena as “Parasite” or “System sprinkler” would never have existed in the online area.
What is it that makes you so sure?
Because these films are beyond the logic of algorithms, beyond “Star Wars” and superhero films. Films like this still have the best chance of visibility at analogue festivals and in the cinema, and thus of success in the further stages of exploitation. Cinema is still the ventricle of the heart, and this optimism drives me.
In fact, it can be said that smaller films simply get lost in the mass of streaming offers and are hardly advertised?
You have to ask yourself how does a streaming platform work. It is controlled by algorithms that we do not know. There are certainly economic interests of the platforms that we are not aware of. In the end, the crowd sees the same thing after all, or we watch the series on the platforms again that we know from television. This is a disorientation and the streaming services are primarily in competition with television because I do both at home from the couch. The cinema, however, serves something completely different and is therefore not just any playback platform for films.
Many people may find it more convenient to be able to do everything themselves from the couch?
There is nothing against it and in the pandemic we are all happy to be able to order things, to watch friends and family via video and to have a wide range of films and series. That makes everything easier, but it’s something else. The delivery service is not a substitute for going to a restaurant, and in the same way you can get into a film in a completely different way in the cinema. You get involved in films that you might never watch on the streaming service.
But at least there would be a possibility, right?
At some point they may be on the major streaming platforms, but often very difficult to find. Films that simply come up on a platform, but are no longer advertised there and are not rewarded by the algorithms, disappear with a minimal number of clicks in the vastness of the Internet. A film needs visibility and relevance. Because art that is not seen does not exist. It only comes to life through observation and reception? and cinema can do that.
When do you expect the cinemas to reopen?
When the cinemas had to close in November, it was very painful for us. Cinemas and other cultural areas were certainly not the drivers of the pandemic. It’s frustrating and grueling, and it has been for four months. On the other hand, we are also seeing the pandemic development. I was asked why we don’t go on the barricades even more. I can only answer that I cannot open any rooms if they are not really safe for employees and for the public. We hope, however, that the positive development will continue and that we will be back in April at the latest.
Would there be enough new films to make cinema attractive to audiences again?
There are quite a few films waiting to be released in theaters. For example “Der Rausch” with Mads Mikkelsen, for me really the best film of the last year, or “Nomadland” with Frances McDormand, the winner of the Golden Lion at the 2020 Venice Film Festival. It would be a shame if such films were to pass completely by . Films are devalued every week that cinemas are closed. The flood of films will increase, but the capacities of the cinemas will be the same after they reopen.
What would the alternative be?
Many filmmakers want to see the big screen because of the unchanged power of cinemas. Going to the streaming platform is not an alternative for them. The worst case for these works like us cinemas would of course be a third wave and the further closure of the cinemas until early summer.
That would be fatal?
Yes, that would be an absolute disaster. Of course, fighting pandemics has top priority. But culture in particular made a strong contribution to this right from the start. And that is precisely why we, as cultural sites and creators, can say with a certain impatience that it is important to sharpen the strategy of fighting pandemics again and to relax the interplay of vaccination, tests and contact tracing. We have tried and tested hygiene concepts, studies have shown the high level of security in our rooms, and contact tracking worked extremely well last year. This must be taken into account and the cultural sites opened as early as possible.
How well have the funding programs worked for your industry?
Funding is of course absolutely essential for cinemas and private cultural areas. Fortunately, a lot has happened there; Neustart Kultur was and is an important program. A number of countries have also gotten very involved, with us in Berlin the Senate and Medienboard have done a lot for culture. Unfortunately there is a problem with the general economic aid. We lose money every week, but most cinemas have not received the November aid to this day. It is existential for many that things are going fast now, as announced. Because the bridging aid 3 also leaves gaps in the companies.
What roles could the ventilation systems in the cinemas help in this?
There have now been some studies that say that an aerosol infection in the cinema is extremely unlikely. People sit in fixed places in the theater, look ahead and don’t talk. Therefore, in a reopening strategy, one should commit to being the first to re-allow cinemas, theaters and museums, because they will not lead to a further increase. We urgently need this step-by-step plan. Should things get worse again, each of these places will understand if the opening is delayed. Anything else would also be difficult to convey. Because we have strong hygiene concepts and are flexible enough to adapt to new requirements.
Thank you for the interview.
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