Exhibitors from all over Europe will meet at Seminci to work on the future of European movie theaters

The Europa Cinemas network, which brings together some 1,200 cinemas from 38 countries, will organize the Audience Innovation and Development Laboratory from October 25 to 28

Europa Cinemas, the network of theaters specializing in European and auteur cinema, which brings together some 1,221 cinemas in 38 countries, will bring together exhibitors from all over Europe for an innovation and audience development laboratory during the 68th International Film Week of Valladolid, which will take place from October 25 to 28.

Created in 1992 on the initiative of a group of thirty film exhibitors, Europa Cinemas has become, 30 years later, a network that brings together more than 3,000 screens and has become the safeguard of quality film exhibition on the continent. Supported since its creation by the European Commission through the Creative Europe MEDIA Program and by the Centre National du Cinéma et de L’image Animée (CNC), Europa Cinemas is the first network of cinemas focused on European films.

The Valladolid event will delve into the development of new tools to ensure the future of movie theaters. The laboratory, which will take place from October 25 to 28, will be entitled “Reaching new audiences: rethinking and diversifying one’s own practices and resources” and will bring together exhibitors from all over Europe with the common goal of seeking future strategies to improve and enrich the cinema experience through digital marketing, programming or innovative communication, among other proposals.

These laboratories, launched in 2014, are currently held in the cities of Sofia (Bulgaria) and Bologna (Italy) and, as of this year, also in Valladolid, where exhibitors from around twenty European countries are expected to attend, as well as numerous professionals from various areas. All of them will have the opportunity to find practical and creative solutions to the current challenges facing film exhibition through the exchange of experiences and approaches of the participants in the discussion groups.

In addition, the event will be an opportunity for attendees to expand their network of contacts and seek possible international collaborations with other film industry professionals.

Europa Cinemas in Spain

The network has 58 partners in Spain, with a total of 247 screens in 36 cities. In Castilla y León, the Van Golem Arlanzón (Burgos), Van Gogh (León), Van Dyck (Salamanca) and Broadway, Manhattan and Casablanca (Valladolid) cinemas are part of the network. Precisely, these last three cinemas have been the only ones selected in Spain in the third edition of the Europa Cinemas Collaborate to Innovate program, which aims to reward the most innovative and collaborative projects implemented by network partners at national or European level.

The Europa Cinemas network is the vehicle through which the European Commission supports exhibitors to ensure that cinemas remain a key environment for promoting the cultural diversity of European cinema and attracting new audiences. Its work ultimately supports the distribution, exhibition and promotion of auteur cinema, and ensures that the cinema-going public can enjoy the cinema experience on the big screen.