12-03-2020

Cinemas Close in North Macedonia, Skopje FF Rescheduled for September 2020

By
    Kino Milenium Kino Milenium

    SKOPJE: All cinemas in North Macedonia are closed until 24 March 2020 as a precaution against the spread of the coronavirus, with the only multiplex cinema Cineplexx also announcing the decision to close its doors on 11 March 2020. The 23rd edition of the Skopje Film Festival, due to take place in April, has been rescheduled for 9-17 September 2020.

    This follows the government's decision from 10 March 2020 to ban public indoor and outdoor gatherings of up to 1,000 people and a recommendation to cancel events with an audience of up to 1,000.

    Cinema officials say they had been working with lower attendance before shutting down. Distributors FNE spoke to are scrambling to assess the impact of these latest cinema closures and say they have to postpone releases and plan harder around dates and release schedules.

    There is no national or international filming announced for this period, but other events continue to be cancelled and postponed at a rapid pace. All state theatres, the Philharmonic and the National Opera and Ballet also cancelled their shows until 24 March 2020.

    Two new cases were confirmed on 11 March 2020 and the number of cases in North Macedonia rose to nine. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health announced the first case of a person recovering from coronavirus in the country.