Cinemas, theatres to raise curtains next week

By Charumini de Silva

Cinemas and theatres are to reopen while adhering to strict health and safety guidelines from next week.

“President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has given the green light to reopen cinemas, subject to strict health guidelines,” a top official confirmed to the Daily FT.

Exact date of reopening will be decided by the COVID Task Force.

On Sunday (4 July), the Government announced the revised health guidelines, providing some breathing space with a conditional resumption of business, except for the film industry.

Cinema industry stakeholders have been lobbying for the Government to reopen cinemas, insisting they are suffering heavy losses due to the closure on account of the pandemic.

At present, countries such as Singapore, the US, and the UK have resumed operations, and the Sri Lankan film industry, too, was keen to practice a similar method, subject to strict health guidelines.

“There were zero COVID-19 cases reported from cinemas. Our industry has invested heavily in film theatres, equipment and amenities, etc. We are extremely happy if the Government had decided to reopen cinemas with strict health practices and measures in place,” stakeholders said.

They also said that of the total 200 cinemas in the country, only 75 had managed to survive with great difficulty, while the rest had gone bankrupt, were closed or were under liquidation.