Movie theaters are finally reopening after more than 14 months of closure following the Covid-19 pandemic. ” 407 consecutive days »Of closure according to the letter of the Moroccan Chamber of cinemas sent on May 14 to the Ministry of Culture calling for the urgent opening of cinemas. A world record according to alert the Chamber.
In any case, the news had the effect of a bomb. Even if the occupancy rate of theaters has been limited to 50%, on social networks, Internet users are already looking for the titles of films to see on the big screen of their cinema hall.
That said, no one knows when the cinemas will actually open, when the government announced on May 31 an imminent reopening from June 1, that is, yesterday Monday.
But the cinemas are unfortunately still closed. Normal, since a reopening of such a large structure does not happen overnight after a closure that has lasted more than a year. A constraint that was not taken into consideration by the government before its announcement.
” The deliverance has finally fallen! It was time. But on had asked in our letter to the Ministry of Culture to reopen the cinemas as a matter of urgency, since there is not sufficient aid from the State. We wanted to be notified a week before the announcement in order to relaunch the heavy machine that is cinematographic exploitation, but also to prepare to welcome our customers in the best conditions ”, entrusts us a professional of the sector on condition of anonymity.
Indeed, to restart the machine, it takes more than a day. There is the maintenance of the machines to be made, the programming of the films, the cleaning of the rooms, the implementation of the anti-covid sanitary process imposed by the authorities, the recall of the personnel.
” There is a lot of work behind it. A cinema does not restart like that. And the government did not take this into consideration », Confides our interlocutor.
In any case, this remains good news for professionals in the sector, he tells us. “Watching the screens again, the rooms full, the clients talking about the film they are going to see, the crowd in front of the counters. This is what we most sincerely missed »Expresses our interlocutor.
And then there are also the personnel of the sector who were on sick leave, he raises. ” And it was not at all easy for them, since state aid was insufficient. Then there were cases of people who did not receive the CNSS allowance. It was therefore time to reopen and let people earn a living, especially since the epidemiological situation is rather stable.“.
Finally, our interlocutor tells us that if he works day and night and everything goes well, the cinemas will probably be able to reopen from Saturday, June 5. Enough to schedule your weekend now!
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