Most of us have only experienced war as filtered through the camera lens of Hollywood onto the cinema screen. But a real war is playing out in Europe right now; one whose true horror we only catch glimpses of through snatches of phone cameras and CCTV footage. A war that few imagined and nobody but one man wanted. A war that will somehow, in some way, impact every one of us, wherever we live.
That is why on Thursday, 3 March, the CJ Cinema Summit will be devoted to the Russian invasion of Ukraine and those within our industry that are impacted by the war. We will speak with Natalia Baydan, the CEO of Ukraine’s Planeta Kino, from her home in Kyiv, as well as Tomasz Jagiello, CEO of Helios cinemas in neighbouring Poland. Sergey Budyak, the CEO of Movex Ukraine will tell us how his software firm continues to support its global cinema clients despite the chaos. Registration is free and we hope you’ll join us or view the session on-demand.
As we admire the bravery of the men and women defending Ukraine, we can also marvel at how the Western world has united and come together. Not just to condemn but to act swiftly to supply Ukraine with arms, to cut Russia off from the global financial system and for every type of industry to sever ties in ways that previously only applied to a handful of rogue states, such as North Korea and Syria. This is what Vladimir Putin, the leader of Russia, has done to his own country.
In the film industry, we saw all five major Hollywood studios announce they will halt the release of new films in Russian cinemas, while Netflix is refusing to carry Russian propaganda channels. The former may be due, in part, to a worthless rouble and a box office that evaporated last weekend. But this is how international organisations express their solidarity with Ukraine and condemnation of the war, while at the same time Russian involvement in international events is axed. There will be no Russian films in Cannes, the Bolshoi Ballet will not perform in London and you won’t be able to have Russian vodka in your local bar. The world has reacted with revulsion to Russia’s attempted subjugation of a democratic sovereign European state. Perhaps it is also making up for not having reacted strongly enough to past atrocities instigated by Putin, from Grozny, Crimea and Aleppo to the streets of Salisbury and the skies from which Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 was shot down. Perhaps also, out of shame for the many deals we have cut with Putin’s cronies and our willingness to look the other way too often.
At the same time voices are being raised in Russia in opposition to the barbarity being carried out under false (and frankly ludicrous) pretense. People are taking to the street to protest, even at the risk of arrest and beatings. In our industry, the courage of Oleg Berezin was on full display when, to condemn his country’s war, he resigned earlier this week as chairman of the Russian Association of Theater Owners. Berezin is joined by other leading figures from the world of culture and art, the field that is arguably one of Russia’s greatest exports to the world after oil, gas and vodka. We can only hope that such voices are amplified and heard until Russia leaves Ukraine and/or Putin is removed or gone.
War is horror. For anyone who has only seen war on film from the Western perspective, the salutary lessons of the Eastern Front is that it only amplifies those horrors. Ukraine was the stage for some of the worst battles and atrocities, as well as heroism, in the Second World War. For those that have not seen possibly the greatest war film of all time, called “Come and See” (“Idi i smotri”, 1985) about World War II in Byelorussia, the trailer will give you a fair idea. This is what the world is sliding towards again. A world war may once again be decided on Europe’s Eastern front and more than just hope, we must do all we can to support Ukraine, for the sake of Europe, for the sake of freedom and even for the sake of the people of Russia. We must do all we can to make this horror end.
Afterwards, the global exhibition industry will need to find a way to support its Ukrainian and Russian counterparts recover from a crisis that is not of their own making.
Current Events
Arts and Culture Industries Boycott Russia to Support Ukraine
The global arts and culture sphere is cutting its ties with Russia, as various institutions, organisations, companies and individuals express solidarity with and support for Ukraine. This comes after the Ukrainian Film Academy called for an international boycott of Russian cinema. There has also been those in Russia that have publicly stated their opposition to Putin’s war on Ukraine. Below is a by no means fully comprehensive overview:
- The Cannes Film Festival has become the largest to state that it will not play any films from the Russian Federation this year or allow participation from the Russian delegation, while Glasgow Film Festival has pulled two Russian titles form its 2022 event. Later this year, the Stockholm Film Festival have Ukraine as its focus country;
- Many exhibitors have stated that they will not play event cinema from Russia, such as the Bolshoi Ballet, whose London tour has also been cancelled by the Royal Opera House;
- MIPTV will exclude any Russian participation in Cannes this April, following a statement from the event organiser RX. The BBC has demanded that Russian TV pull shows that it has licensed to them, such as “Doctor Who” and “Strictly Come Dancing” (aka “Dancing With the Stars”);
- The Russian Pavilion at the Biennale arts exhibition in Venice will not go ahead and the Venice Film Festival is also said to be considering its own response;
- Russia will not be allowed to compete in this year’s Eurovision Song Content taking place in Italy. “The inclusion of a Russian entry in this year’s contest would bring the competition into disrepute,” the EBU statement said;
- The Munich Philharmonic has severed the contract with its chief conductor, Valery Gergiev, due to his close his ties to Vladimir Putin. He has also been dropped by his management and seen several of his upcoming concerts cancelled;
- Bars and shops in the US, UK and elsewhere have been pulling bottles of Russian vodka off shelves;
- Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, Louis Tomlinson, Franz Ferdinand and Green Day are some of the musicians and performers to have cancelled upcoming performances in Russia;
- There have also been cancellations of Russia’s involvement in major sporting events, including the UEFA and FIFA football (soccer) tournaments. The International Judo Federation has stripped Vladimir Putin of his title as Honorary President and Ambassador of the International Judo Federation;
- Cinema trade bodies UNIC, AG Kino and others have issued statements that they stand in solidarity with Ukraine, though without mentioning any concrete action.
Three Hollywood studios have announced that they are suspending distribution of films in the Russian Federation: Disney, Sony Pictures and Warner Bros, whose DC Comics film “The Batman” was set to be released this week. In addition to the resignation of Oleg Berezin, there have been many letters of opposition to the war from Russian cinematographers, animators, screenwriters and several other professional unions. Many Russian media channels refuse to post such letters, so social media has became the main media outlet in Russia now.
Source: Variety
Cinemas
Korea Launches World’s First Multi-Booth Cinema
The world’s first cinema where audiences are divided into multi-group rooms has opened in Korea. The Film Factory is located in Deokgye-dong, Yangsan-si, Gyeongnam and formally opened on 25 February after a two-week pilot. Optimised for social distancing, the cinema consists of 26-rooms facing the screen over several levels, with a total of 78 seats, ranging from double rooms to three to four bed rooms. The balcony on the third floor is made to resemble that of an opera theatre.
Each one of the rooms is separated from the main auditorium by glass, which means that customers can control lighting, volume, and room temperature from a soundproof booth-type seat. There are sofas for sitting or lying down, with side tables for food and drink, with ‘room service’ delivering everything from popcorn and snacks to savoury food and drinks. During the pilot adjustments were made such as sofa recline and the need for coat hangers.
Our children, who have to live in the post-corona era, have already become accustomed to watching movies on the screen of a one-span smartphone. I wanted to convey the emotion of the ‘big screen’ to children again, so I made a movie theater with social distance.
Lee Jae-yong, CEO of Film Factory
The cinema design is reminiscent of the kind of level-pod design proposed by Oma Cinema, though the first cinema based on this design has yet to open in Paris.
Source: OhmyNews
Exhibitors
B&B Theatres Expansion Continues Through Pandemic
Not even the COVID pandemic could slow down the growth of B&B Theatres. Over the last 18-months, the Liberty, Missouri based cinema has added 120 screens making it the fifth largest motion picture exhibitor in North America. The family run business was already expanding before the pandemic and now operates 56 cinemas comprising 513 screens, passing up Arizona-based Harkins Theatres which has 478 screens across 32 locations.
The expansion. brings B&B into new markets such as the Northwest where the exhibitor picked up the Airway Heights 8 in Washington. Other new markets include Georgia, where a new 12-plex will open in Athens later this year, as well as Virginia, where B&B has opened an 11-screen family entertainment center in Blacksburg. The Park West 14 acquisition put the exhibitor in North Carolina for the first time. And none of these new markets take into consideration the new builds and renovations the family-run B&B has taken on in Florida, Minneapolis, Mississippi, Oklahoma, St. Louis and Texas.
Speaking to Deadline, B&B’s President and CEO, stated “We have been very conservative with our finances for many years, and have good personal relationships, not only with our vendors and studios, but also with our bankers and landlords. When the pandemic hit, we had built up so much good will that everyone worked with us.”
Source: Deadline
Exhibitors
Korean Cinemas Trial Reusable Cup Scheme
A pilot project to trial reusable cups in cinemas has been launched in South Korea by a packaging company and several Korean cinema operators. Podeuk, a tableware rental and cleaning startup is partnering multiplex majors CJ CGV and Lotte Cultureworks, as well as individual cinemas. The pilot project will take place in five locations located in Cheongju-si: CGV Cheongju West Gate, Cheongju Gwell City, Cheongju Yulryang, Lotte Cinema Seocheongju (outlet), and Cheongju Lava.
During the pilot, customers will buy soda and other cold beverages in reusable cups instead of disposable ones. These can then be returned to a receptacle where they are collected, washed, and re-supplied to the cinema. In its efforts to embrace and communicate sustainability, CJ CGV is also switching popcorn tubs to eco-friendly materials in ten cinemas nationwide and then to all of its Korean cinemas within a year:
The eco-friendly material of the popcorn container was made to be easily recycled by applying a water-based coating instead of the existing plastic-based polyethylene (PE) coating and minimizing the printing area. In the future, CJ CGV plans to sequentially change medium-sized popcorn containers and cola cups to eco-friendly materials.
CJ CGV added a theater with multi-use cups that were pilot-introduced in CGV Deungchon and Hongdae last year.
Similar efforts are underway by Lotte, which is looking at everything from offering milk substitution for its coffee drinks to switching to paper straws. Pilot partner Podeuk is already providing multi-use cup rental/washing services to Korean companies such as Kookmin Card, as well as cinema locations such as Lotte Cinema Pyeongchon and Konkuk University as of last year. The company is also responsible for washing multi-use cups in another pilot project in Seoul, in which Starbucks is participating.
Source: Korea Dutyfree News
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