The International Cinema Technology Association (ICTA) today announced the 2021-2022 winners of the ICTA EMEA Awards, celebrating technological leadership, design and innovation in the cinema exhibition sector. The award winners are Cinemateket Oslo (Classic Cinema of the Year), Kinepolis Leidschendam/Westfield Mall of the Netherlands (New Build Cinema of the Year), Filmpalast Kassel (Best Cinema Refurbishment of the Year) and The(Any)Thing Cinema (Special Innovation Award). The award winners will be celebrated during ICTA’s annual awards and dinner reception, on 3rd October in Barcelona, just before the start of CineEurope.
ICTA is a global network of professionals in the motion picture industry. Members are the companies that manufacture, service and create equipment that goes into movie theatres. Each year, the European branch of the association awards cinema operators that champion and celebrate innovation in cinema exhibition with the ICTA EMEA awards. This year’s winners are:
Classic Cinema of the Year: Cinemateket, Oslo, Norway
New Build Cinema of the Year: Kinepolis Leidschendam / Westfield Mall of the Netherlands, The Netherlands
Best Cinema Refurbishment: Filmpalast Kassel, Germany
Special Innovation Award: The(Any)Thing Cinema, Wijk bij Duurstede, The Netherlands
Jan Runge, ICTA’s European representative, congratulates all winners:
“ICTA’s European team is delighted to honor these outstanding European innovators, which in different ways illustrate that cinema exhibition continues to meet new audience tastes with ever more immersive, luxurious and personalized experiences. This ability to embrace change contributes to the resilience of the European cinema sector and is a deciding factor for cinema’s comeback in these critical times. Huge congratulations to all involved.”
The cinema companies comment on their winning:
Jan Langlo, Head of Cinemateket, Norwegian Film Institute
“It is a great honour for Cinemateket – the Norwegian Film Institute to receive ICTA’s Classic Cinema of the Year Award. Over the years we have put much emphasis on perfecting the image and sound quality in our two theatres in Oslo, in order to create the best possible screening facilities for both classic and contemporary films. Analogue projection is a continued priority for us, and we have festivals dedicated to both silent films and 70mm epics. We also screen brand new films and host a number of industry events, so it is critical that our cinemas meet the demands of the industry as well as the expectations of the audience. The ICTA Classic Cinema of the Year Award is a wonderful acknowledgment of our efforts to create a high-quality cinema in Oslo, and we are a most grateful and humble recipient of this award.”
Eddy Duquenne, CEO of Kinepolis:
“In these challenging times, we are extremely proud of the new-builds we have opened in these past few months and especially of our flagship cinema in Leidschendam, that has everything moviegoers long for nowadays. This ICTA ‘New Build Cinema of the Year’ award is a great honor and it will motivate our teams even more to meet and exceed the expectations of all those committed to the big screen experience.”
Juliane de Boer of Filmpalast Group:
“At Filmpalast we love and celebrate the big screen experience. Our newly refurbished flagship cinema in Kassel boosts the latest and most appealing cinema concepts and premium experiences and caters for increasingly diverse audience tastes. We are incredibly excited about our cinema and honored to receive ICTA’s EMEA Award for the Best Cinema Refurbishment 2021-2022.”
Thomas van de Weerd, Co-Founder and CEO of The(Any)Thing Cinema:
“Thank you to the ICTA and its members for bestowing us with the Special Innovation Award. It’s a big honor for the tiniest cinema in the world. We are extremely proud and thankful for opening our first concept location and are ready to take on the next one. Making cinema more personal and intimate with every new location we open.”
Frank Tees, ICTA’s President, adds:
“Congratulations to the outstanding teams of Cinemateket, Kinepolis, Fimpalast and The(Any)Thing Cinema for these much deserved awards. And a special thank you to ICTA’s International Board Directors Cathy Huis in ‘t Veld-Esser, Till Cussmann, Oliver Pasch and Jan Runge for their services in Europe and for organizing this highly recognized award.”
The award winners will be honored during ICTA’s award ceremony and dinner reception on 3rd October in Barcelona. Professionals attending CineEurope who would like to participate can register on www.icta-web.com in the events section.