Residents of the northwestern city of Szczecin are fighting to save one of the world’s oldest functioning cinemas after ticket sales plummeted during the coronavirus crisis, forcing it to announce its closure.
The “Pionier 1907”, as its name suggests, first hosted film screenings in 1907, when the city was part of the German Empire and known as Stettin. It was not until two years later, however, that it officially began operation as a cinema.
In 2005, it was certified by Guinness World Records as the oldest operating cinema in the world, a title it still uses. However, since then other cinemas have been recognised as older, including the State Theatre in Washington, Iowa in the United Stats, operating since 1897 and handed the title in 2016.
#kinobusPL wyruszył w trasę #zachodniopomorskie dziś odwiedziliśmy #Szczecin #kinopionier #cinema #nagrodyPISF pic.twitter.com/pfB4L8cFBW
— Polski Instytut Sztuki Filmowej (@filmsfrompoland) August 18, 2016
After restoration in 2002, the cinema now has two projection rooms: a main “historical” room which currently fits 82 viewers, and a smaller “Kiniarnia” which combines a smaller screen with a cafe. Screenings of silent films are often accompanied by live piano music.
Yesterday, however, the cinema announced that it was being forced to suspend operations from 28 September, as it struggles to make ends meet due to the tough restrictions and low attendances caused by the pandemic.
The cinema’s co-owner, Jerzy Miśkiewicz, explained that, to stay afloat, the cinema needs to sell 130 tickets per day. But recently it is only managing around 30, reports Gazeta Wyborcza.
„Aktualnie przychodzi do nas jedynie kilkanaście osób dziennie, a żeby generować zysk potrzebny na działalność,…
Opublikowany przez Kino Pionier 1907 Poniedziałek, 21 września 2020
“Currently, only a dozen or so people come to us each day,” Miśkiewicz told local news site wszczecinie.pl. “To generate the profit needed for our business, we need over a hundred viewers per day. Maybe it’s also a matter of nice summer weather, but certainly this is caused by people’s concerns about the ongoing epidemic.”
Despite the government allowing cinemas to reopen on 6 June for limited numbers of attendees, the sector has struggled. According to the Polish Film Institute (PISF), in July over 530,000 viewers attended cinema screenings, compared with over 4,800,000 in the same month last year – an 89% drop.
However, locals in Szczecin have insisted that the show must go on.
Wspieram.to – a large Polish crowdfunding site with headquarters in Szczecin – has announced a campaign to save the cinema. The site’s founder, Marcin Galicki, said his team is working on “a very unconventional concept” to raise funds.
[aktualizacja 1] – https://wspieram.to/NajstarszeKinoSwiataTu można się zapisać na powiadomienie o starcie kampanii…
Opublikowany przez Marcina Galickiego Poniedziałek, 21 września 2020
Other residents have also declared their willingness to help, by offering voluntary staffing and technical assistance for events held at the cinema.
Locals have already once before come to the cinema’s rescue during this year’s pandemic. Many of them purchased tickets for future screenings when the cinema was shut down in April, to provide it with a cash cushion to last through the lockdown.
Main image credit: CEZARY ASZKIELOWICZ / AGENCJA GAZETA
Maria Wilczek is deputy editor of Notes from Poland. She is a regular writer for The Times, The Economist and Al Jazeera English, and has also featured in Foreign Policy, Politico Europe, The Spectator and Gazeta Wyborcza.
