Dimple Kapadia, a Bollywood actress, plays Priya in Tenet, which opens in cinemas on Friday. The film stars John David Washington. Imdb.com
Durban - CINEMAS are kicking off their reopening on Friday with international releases, but it will be a while before movies from India reach the big screen.
Last week, major cinema houses announced their reopening after they had to close at the start of the lockdown in March.
Other than some restrictions, there will be a number of safety and hygiene protocols in place so that patrons can enjoy the big screen experience again.
AB Moosa, the chief executive of the Avalon Group (CineCentre cinemas), said from Friday selected CineCentre sites would be opened in a phased-in manner.
“Our cinemas will all trade on weekends with a selected few trading on some weekdays.
“We will gradually phase in more cinema hours,” he said.
CineCentre will reopen with international film screenings at its cinemas in Durban, Cape Town and Pietermaritzburg.
Films to be screened
The following films are scheduled to open this week at CineCentre, SterKinekor and Nu Metro cinemas.
Tenet: A spy film written and directed by Christopher Nolan.
Fatima: A faith-based drama directed by Marco Pontecorvo (Portugal).
Ava: A spy action thriller with Jessica Chastain, John Malkovich, Common and Geena Davis.
My Spy: An action comedy starring Dave Bautista and Chloe Coleman as Sophie, a 9-year-old schoolgirl who blackmails a CIA agent into training her to be a spy. (CineCentre and SterKinekor only)
Tabaluga - The Little Dragon: The animated kids film will be screened at SterKinekor.
Onward: The animated comedy sci-fi adventure will be screened at Nu Metro.
More films
Moosa said arrangements were being finalised with regards to Bollywood films.
“These are likely to open on the big screen more towards the Diwali period.”
He said a number of films are scheduled to release this year, including:
Bollywood: Sooryavanshi, Lootcase, 83, Haathi Mere Saathi/Kaandan, Dil Bechara, Radhe - Your Most Wanted Bhai and Chhalaang.
Hollywood: Fast & Furious 9, No Time to Die, Venom: Let There be Carnage, Minions: The Rise of Gru, Eternals, Mulan, New Mutants, Peter Rabbit 2 and Wonder Woman 1984.
Ster-Kinekor said it would also open with a phased approach, starting with 32 cinemas on Friday, followed by the remaining 21 sites on September 18.
Nu Metro said most of its flagship cinema complexes would open from Friday. Their cinemas will initially only be open to the public on Fridays to Sundays (and public holidays), with limited show times per day and some films being screened over multiple screens with staggered time slots per complex.
Added safety
All cinemas will operate under the new Covid-19 safety directives set out by the government, including that each theatre will be permitted a maximum of 50 guests per auditorium (excluding staff). Some of the new safety measures (in addition to hygiene and social distancing protocols) include:
Regulated/social distancing of seating.
Staggering shows / floor decals/cinema communications to manage the number of people in foyers at any one time.
Tighter controls for in-cinema interaction: more emphasis now placed on purchases of tickets and snacks via apps, online or self-service kiosks.
Sanitising of cinemas before and after each show, with increased cleaning times between every show.
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