Organised by the International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (CICAE) in partnership with Europa Cinemas, the European Arthouse Cinema Day is the only joint initiative undertaken by cinema exhibitors to promote European films, boost the cinema experience and celebrate the engagement of movie theatres in promoting European cultural diversity through exclusive programs. Since its inception in 2016, the event has involved hundreds of cinemas in more than 40 countries across the globe each year.
On the European Arthouse Cinema Day participating cinemas, in collaboration with the CICAE, its national associations and right holders including distributors and sales agents, prepare exclusive programmes featuring European films, from classics to upcoming titles trough premieres and previews and supported by special accompanying actions including special guests, discussions, programmes for young audiences, exhibitions, culinary specialties or Q&As live streamed. All cinemas have access to common promotional materials created specially for the day. Last year, over 700 cinemas in 44 countries registered.
As in previous years, a selection of renowned European artists from the film industry will act as the day’s ambassadors. For the 2021 edition, they are director Ildikó Enyedi, actress Valeria Golino, writer-director Jonás Trueba and actor and director Mathieu Amalric. The ambassadors will actively promote the event as well as take part in special events in person.
Christian Bräuer, CICAE President, comments: “More than 100 million visitors every year show the crucial role of European arthouse cinemas in promoting cultural diversity and showcasing young talent. These times of crises have shown the impressive resilience of arthouse cinemas and highlighted their role as an essential part of the European cultural landscape. The arthouse movement has successfully brought people together, regardless of age, background, education or income. With the European Arthouse Cinema Day we want to showcase the cultural enrichment cinemas bring to communities. At the same time, we hope to increase visibility of European film and arthouse cinemas especially in those regions without unions and sufficient support structures."
Ildikó Enyedi: “I always thought cinema is a sort of hypnosis, where you don’t just enter someone else’s universe, but more importantly, you enter your own in a new way. And the beauty of it is to do this utterly intimate act together with strangers, in a group. It taps you into that sort of hidden universe of what Jung called the common unconscious. So, the deeply personal and the most common happen simultaneously. This is a very rare and very precious cultural moment. We would need more of that. It helps us to stay healthy mentally. It helps us to stay ourselves, embedded in a large community. So cinemas are elementary for our mental hygiene. We, humans, need these sort of rituals, to gather somewhere to share an experience. Cinema is such a location, cinema halls are the temples of self-discovery.”
The European Arthouse Cinema Day is organised thanks to the support of the Creative Europe MEDIA Program, Eurimages, Europa Cinemas, Filmförderungsanstalt (FFA), Centre National du Cinéma et de l’Image Animée (CNC), Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM), Medienboard Berlin Brandenburg, and in partnership with European Film Academy, Lux Audience Award, Unifrance, Titrafilm and the European Film Factory as well the several local partners in the different participating countries.
About CICAE
The International Confederation of Arthouse Cinemas (CICAE) is a non-profit organisation aiming at promoting cultural diversity in cinemas and festivals. It was founded in 1955 by the national arthouse cinema associations of Germany, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. Today it counts more than 2100 members and 4000 screens across 46 countries, representing 12 national and regional associations, 61 individual cinemas, 14 festivals and 6 special members.
