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At beginning of the second decade of the XXI century no cultural activity it is easy to survive, perhaps none with a present as complicated as the cinema. To the endemic problems brought on by the internet and, more recently, the rise of streaming platforms, joins the pandemic, which drowns the aid that the sector receives at a time when the health and social emergency has become a high priority. So it looks like a little miracle that he Cineclub Luis Buñuel stand tall. This association of friends of the seventh art, the oldest in the Valencian Community among those still standing and one of the oldest in the whole country, survives thanks to the unconditional support of its more than 200 partners, who pay their fees, now quarterly, and who regularly attend screenings in the Fundación Mediterráneo culture room in the Glorieta, whose average attendance is higher than that of commercial rooms.
The cinema club keeps its programming active for January, a month in which it has made a firm commitment to European cinema. In this way, its members will be able to enjoy the next Friday 15th, 22nd and 29th of the films Corpus Christi (Poland), The Anonymous Artist (Finland) and Ondina (Germany). Each film is screened in two screenings, at 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. in order to comply with the new curfew that has been set in the latest restrictions. “Despite the situation, attendance at our films is still acceptable,” says the president of the cinema club, José Vicente Candela, who recalls that the room complies with all hygiene measures to ensure the safety of the audience.
The 220 members of Luis Buñuel make a quarterly contribution of 25 euros, so watching each film costs them approximately 2.70 euros. The average number of spectators in each projection is close to one hundred attendees. “We bet on auteur cinema, our films are not commercial, most come from the festival circuit and almost all are premieres in Elche,” explains Candela as a film club philosophy.
In 2024 Luis Buñuel will be fifty years old. Those in charge hope to arrive in good condition on that special date, for which they hope to continue having the support of the Institut Valencià de Cultura, the City Council and the Mediterranean Foundation. As every year, the film club pays tribute to figures of the seventh art. This 2021 the recognition is for Sean Connery and Ennio Morricone, recently deceased.
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