Almost 400 participants, including network exhibitors, distributors, research groups and material suppliers, from 36 countries, as well as Romanian directors, producers and professionals, gathered from 15th to 18th November in Bucharest for the 12th Annual Europa Cinemas Conference.

The Romanian directors Corneliu Porumboiu and Catalin Mitulescu and the French director and President of Europa Cinemas Claude Miller presented on Friday 16 Nov the 2007 Europa Cinemas Awards to 3 European exhibitors from the network during an evening at the Cinema Studio.

The film SZTUCZKI (TRICKS) by Andrzej Jakimowski, awarded with the EUROPA CINEMAS LABEL at the last Giornate Degli Autori (Venice 2007), was screened to the participants after the ceremony.
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2007 EUROPA CINEMAS AWARDS

- Best Programming: Friedrichsbau & Kandelhof, Freiburg (Germany)

- Best Young Audience Activities: Film Center of Gdańsk – Neptun-Helikon-Kameralne – Gdańsk (Poland)

- Best Entrepreneur: Circuito Cinema (Italy)
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- Press Release: Word

- Pictures to download (from top):
  - Fatima Djoumer, Claude-Eric Poiroux, Constantin Pivniceru and Claude Miller
  - Friedrichsbau, Freiburg 
  - Kandelhof, Freiburg
  - Michael Wiedemann
  - Neptun, Gdańsk
  - National Film Knowledge
  - Corneliu Porumboiu, Andrzej Puszkiewicz
  - Metropolitan, Roma
  - Claude Miller, Michael Wiedemann, Fabio Féfé

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2007 EUROPA CINEMAS AWARDS

BEST PROGRAMMING

Friedrichsbau & Kandelhof, Freiburg (Germany)

A Sense of Initiative

The Friedrichsbau cinema in the south-west university city of Freiburg had been operated by the "Palast-Betriebe Schmidt und Thiele" for almost 70 years before being taken over - along with the single-screen Kandelhof cinema - by locally born Michael Wiedemann in April 1998. In the 1970s, the Friedrichsbau was developed into a four-screen complex with the main cinema seating 300, the "Apollo 1" 180, and two smaller Apollo screens 52 and 39, respectively.
Wiedemann explains that he has "strong competition" from other cinemas in Freiburg, but he has always held true to his particular focus on European and German films in his programming. Recent films shown included the new Fatih Akin film The Edge Of Heaven, Ang Lee's Lust, Caution and smaller films such as En La Cama or Hounds.
He is also fortunate that Freiburg's citizens are Germany's most enthusiastic cinema-goers, with an average 4.5 visits per year and a total of 1.4 million tickets sold. While the Friedrichsbau centre numbers around 200,000 admissions per year, the Kandelhof on the city's outskirts in a residential area, with its single screen and 200 seats, attracts between 50,000 and 60,000.
Wiedemann points out that he could not now do without the programming awards the cinemas have regularly received from the German State Minister for Culture (BKM) and the regional film fund MFG in Baden-Württemberg and is grateful for the support he has received from the city of Freiburg for other initiatives such as the Freiburg Filmfest, held for the fourth time this summer. Billed as an audience festival, the Filmfest's ten days of screenings in the open-air Mensagarten venue and the Friedrichsbau attracted some 7,000 visitors in 2007.
Another innovative programming feature developed by Wiedemann is the fortnightly "Pay After" screening where a "surprise film" is shown and the audience are asked only after the screening to pay what they think the film is worth. For one film, Vaya Con Dios by Zoltan Spirandelli, "there was such an incredible euphoria and I faxed the audience response to the distributor. We ended up having the film's German premiere and playing it for more than a year!"
Looking back at almost ten years of running the two cinemas, Wiedemann says that his greatest experience was having the German rock poet legend Wolfgang Niedecken and Wim Wenders coming to personally introduce their music documentary Viel Passiert - Der BAP Film. "I was very moved," he recalls.
www.friedrichsbau-kino.de

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BEST YOUNG AUDIENCE ACTIVITIES

Film Center of Gdańsk – Neptun-Helikon-Kameralne – Gdańsk (Poland)

Programming for all young audiences

Three cinemas in one, a stone's throw from the Baltic Sea. On a central square in Gdańsk, Poland's 6th largest city and cradle of Solidarność, the Neptun, Helikon and Kameralne cinemas constitute the unique Gdańskie Centrum Filmowe (Gdańsk Film Centre), dedicated to showing films d'auteur. Although located in the same building, they nevertheless have a different history.
The Neptun is the largest theatre in the country, with 1,100 seats. That makes it the privileged location for major film previews, as recently for David Lynch's Inland Empire. It is also one of the oldest cinemas still running. The Helikon and Kameralne have both existed for around twenty years. More modest (72 and 136 seats), they nevertheless complement the Neptun well. Despite their excellent location, these theatres must today deal with competition from three multiplexes. A difficult situation at times, which Andrzej Puszkiewicz, who’s responsible for Young Audience, answers with a major policy of activities.
Each age group benefits from specific programming. Once a month, the three cinemas organise programmes for the very young. For Puszkiewicz, this does not mean simply showing them a film, but also allowing them to discover the magic of cinema by explaining how it works.
For their part, high school students benefit from special screenings on Saturdays. "We encourage them to bring along their parents or friends," Puszkiewicz points out. "We give special privilege to European films, and from time to time American or Asian films." The programming is organised around precise topics worked out beforehand with the teachers. "This work also gives pupils and teachers a basis for discussion and exchange once they're back in the classroom." The cinemas welcome between 30'000 and 40'000 schoolchildren per year.
Finally and above all, the Neptun, Helikon and Kameralne organise each year the finale of the National Film Knowledge competition destined for students. This event gathers 5,000 competitors, who must answer questions on the cinema, and offers numerous screenings and meetings with professionals. The winners come away with admission to a film school. A nice way to participate in the renewal of Polish film talent. Puszkiewicz hopes to extend the competition to other European countries.
www.neptunfilm.pl

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BEST ENTREPRENEUR

Circuito Cinema (Italy)

A network that favours solidarity

Created in 1997, Circuito Cinema is celebrating its tenth anniversary amid growing success thanks to its quality programming and convivial atmosphere. "Our goal was to create a network that stands out for the quality and diversity of its programming, while competing successfully with the other commercial theatres." When it comes to evoking the origins of Circuito Cinema, Fabio Féfé does not mince his words. Created in 1997, the network groups several Italian exhibitors and distributors, including Istituto Luce, Bim Distribuzione, Lucky Red and Mikado Film. The network comprises one cinema in Genoa (Ariston) and nine in Rome (Eurcine, Fiamma, Giulio Cesare, Jolly, King, Maestoso, Metropolitan, Nuovo Olimpia and Quattro Fontane) for a total of 32 screens, which count among the most dynamic and convivial in the country. In addition, Circuito Cinema has a half share in the capital of nine other theatres in Catania (Ariston), Florence (Flora and Fiorella), Milan (Eliseo), Naples (Filangieri) and Turin (Nazionale and Eliseo), and is in charge of programming for several cinemas throughout Italy.
Circuito Cinema is today celebrating its tenth anniversary. Giving an important place to solidarity among professionals, the network has consolidated the position of its theatres which, now well-known to the public, can face up to the growing competition on the Italian market. The figures speak for themselves. In 2006, Circuito Cinema registered over 1.4 million admissions, thanks notably to the successes of Mrs Henderson Presents and The Queen, Match Point, The Wind That Shakes the Barley and Volver, which was billed for several months. A major source of satisfaction for Féfé, who notes that most films presented by Circuito Cinema respect the criteria for arthouse cinema established by the committee of experts of the Ministry for Cultural Heritage and Activities.
In 2007, Circuito Cinema expanded with the opening of a third theatre at the Fiamma in Rome, as well as two new screens at the Ariston in Catania. And Féfé doesn't rule out more development. "We've got an eye on the evolution of the market, and if it's possible to grow further, we'll take a good look at every opportunity," he says. Further justification for the Europa Cinemas prize awarded in Bucharest. "This award is a real recognition of our work," Féfé concludes.
www.circuitocinema.com

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Previous Europa Cinemas Awards :

2006:
Best Programming: Grand Teatret, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Best Young Audience Activities: Cinema Paradiso, St Pölten (Austria)
Best Entrepreneur: Enrique Gonzales Macho, Cines Renoir / Alta Films (Spain)

2005:
Best Programming:  Müvész, Puskin, Szindbád, Budapest (Hungary)
Best Young Audience Activities:  Kino Sõprus, Tallinn (Estonia)
Best Entrepreneur: Anne-Marie Faucon and Michel Malacarnet, Utopia (France)

2004:
Best Programming:  Muranow, Warsaw (Poland)
Best Young Audience Activities: MovieZone (Netherlands)
Best Entrepreneur: Tony Jones and Lyn Goleby, City Screen (United Kingdom)

2003:
Best Programming:  Anteo Spaziocinema, Milano (Italy)
Best Young Audience Activities: Folkets Bio (Sweden)
Best Entrepreneur: Heinrich-Georg Kloster, Yorck Kino (Germany)

2002:
Best Programming: Cinemes Verdi and Verdi Park, Barcelona (Spain)
Best Young Audience Activities: Churchill and Le Parc, Liege (Belgium)

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