03/04/2012

Cultural centres to boost Tunisian distribution

In Sousse last weekend, Tunisian film professionals discussed digitising screens in cultural centres to boost national film distribution.

Industry, Tunisia

(News 80) On the margins of the Sousse International Film Festival for Children and Youth, from March 25 to April 1, cinema professionals discussed how to boost Tunisian film distribution.

Distributing independent films, especially Tunisian films, is difficult in a country with only 15 cinemas nationwide, of which 80% are in the capital Tunis.

But the country also has 210 cultural centres, and this could help to resolve the distribution problem.

Participants at the meeting agreed on a plan to:

• Set up a greater number of multi-screen cinemas, depending on financial, tax, and cultural  benefits available to those initiating the project. 
• Equip a number of existing screens in cultural centres to support the distribution of Tunisian films. Up to 48 screens have been identified as capable of receiving equipment for digital film screening, with an average cost estimated at 8,000 Tunisian dinars per screens.  

If this plan works out, cultural centres, Tunisian film producers, and Tunisian film distributors could then work together to premiere Tunisian films on the weekend (Friday, Saturday and Sunday), in simultaneous “national realeases” supported by these newly-equipped cinemas all over the country.

Participants also said that a film distribution strategy should be devised to create local cinemas to bring films closer to Tunisian citizens, no matter where they are.