Renoir could be saved....

That is what Pedro Barbadillo, the President of the Mallorcan Film Commission, who has been leading the campaign to preserve the cinema and the screening of original version films, announced yesterday.

As the Bulletin has reported, AltaFilms have agreed to continue distributing films if the cinema complex can be saved and now the Renoir cinema chain has agreed not to sell off the seats etc. to Morocco, as planned, but leave the complex in tact if the Save the Renoir campaign can come up with a viable solution.

Barbadillo said yesterday that 700 people have already signed up to the campaign and the idea of establishing a cooperative.
Private investment
Each member would pay between 20 and 25 euros per month, the equivalent of a cinema ticket per week, and the money raised would be used to keep the cinema operating.

Ideally, a total of around 1'000 cooperative members are going to be needed, however, majority private investors in to the scheme will also be welcomed and would become trustees, or instead of 20 or 25 euros, people can agree to making a higher monthly commitment to the cause.

The company which has been running the cinema complex, which opened 15 years ago, to date has also agreed to leave all the projection equipment, but the complex, which has been running at a loss for the past eight years, would obviously have to reopen under a new name as it would no longer be part of the Renoir group.

However, what ever the new cinema is going to be called, it will continue to be dedicated to screening original version films which, for the most part are in English.

But, Barbadillo has other plans for breathing new life into the cinema complex.
Local film makers will be encouraged to screen their productions there and he has also said that a series of the great old classics will be screened for free.

More concrete information of how the cooperative is going to actually work is going to be made available next week while further talks with the owners of the actual building about reducing the rental rate of the complex continues. Apparently, the rent is very high but Barbadillo is confident an amicable agreement can be reached because he wants to see the cinema reopen as quickly as possible.

For those who want to help save the Renoir, the campaign has set up a special web site salvemelsrenoir@gmail.com and all the latest developments will be posted on the site along with news of how the cooperative is going to work next week.