SANTA CRUZ DE TENERIFE, Aug. 1 (EUROPE PRESS) –
The General Directorate of Culture of the Government of the Canary Islands has opened a specific line of support for the modernization and digitization of cinemas on the islands. It is a newly created initiative that will be financed through European funds to recover the sector after the negative impact of the health pandemic.
As reported by the General Directorate of Culture in a press release, companies that promote specific projects of innovation, digitized and sustainable operation, creation and loyalty of audiences and adaptation to new audiovisual consumption habits will be eligible for these grants.
This call has an economic endowment of more than 536,000 euros. The amount requested for projects may not exceed 80 percent of the total expenditure budget. The bases of these grants are available at the electronic headquarters of the Government of the Canary Islands (procedure 7524), with access also from the website of the Canarian Institute of Cultural Development, ICDC (Bulletin section of the Support Office for the Cultural Sector). The term will be open until August 29.
The economic item that covers this procedure comes from the Recovery, Transformation and Resilience Plan, specifically from the new Next Generation EU fund, created to promote the recovery and reactivation of all economic sectors, in which special emphasis is also placed on the of the cultural sector of our country. And in this specific case, within the so-called Spain Audiovisual Hub of Europe, which is aimed at strengthening the audiovisual sector.
Individuals and legal entities who own cinemas or cinema complexes in the Autonomous Community of the Canary Islands can apply for these grants. The subsidy projects refer to digitalization and application of new technologies; adoption of measures for sustainable development and positive environmental impact; implementation of innovation systems in the programming and circulation of European productions and in original version and in Spanish. The activities to be subsidized must be carried out between March 1, 2020 and September 30, 2023.
Eligible expenses also include feasibility studies for digital transformation, communication and digital marketing projects, updating of ticketing systems, modernization of digital projection, audio and connectivity systems; application of artificial intelligence and big data or digitization of other services. In all cases, sustainable development measures would be adopted in accordance with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda.
General expenses, fixed or personnel costs, periodic investments, capital costs for property repairs or events that are not mainly aimed at the exhibition and promotion of films will not be included in the applications.
According to the study of the Culture Committee of the European Parliament, the Covid-19 crisis has challenged the business models of audiovisual exploitation. On the one hand, there has been a more than notorious increase in audiovisual consumption through digital platforms and, on the other, the impact of forced closures, capacity limitations and the postponement of important releases in movie theaters has weakened the situation of These companies.
At the moment, no alternative exploitation formula (such as the exclusive release of the production on platforms) seems to financially improve the option of releasing a film in theaters, even in a context of depression in the film market. And it seems clear that movie theaters play a crucial cultural, social and economic role, not only for the entire film industry, but also for the cities and communities in which they are located, for other services linked to leisure activity, and consequently also for State income through taxes.
In the current context, movie theaters need to renew their skills and practices, especially to encourage the public to return to theaters after months of closure, reduced capacity and scarcity of releases, as well as integrating new approaches to the consumer experience audiovisual to face new realities around culture, the public, society, sustainable development, imbalances between territories, technology and industry.
