At the end of November, the 19th conference of the international network Europa Cinemas was held in Prague, which was also attended by representatives of the Kinodvor cinema.

 The international network Europa Cinemas connects 977 cinemas in 596 cities in 42 countries world wide. The meeting was attended by almost 500 delegates from all around the world, among them also members of the Art Cinema Network from Slovenia, of which the Kinodvor cinema is part of.

Nina Peče Grilc, the Director of the Kinodvor cinema and since May last year a member of the Board of Directors of the network Europa Cinemas, used the conference to highlight, by giving the city cinema as an example, the cultural significance of cinemas in promoting program diversity and film education of the audience. In addition, she stressed that cultivating audiences to accept diverse contents of films which are not primarily created for entertainment purposes is a task for a wider circle of stakeholders in the society, not only the cinemas.

The significance of the cultural, social and economic role of cinemas in the continuously developing digital environment was in the focus of this year’s conference. 
The conference addressed numerous opinions and understandings of the new environment in which cinemas are operating, and presented practical cases of innovative communication methods and approaches for the renewal of relationships with the existing audiences and developing new ones. Regarding addressing audiences while taking into account film accessibility on different platforms, the participants of the conference stressed the significance of cinemas and the so-called cinema-going habits as trademarks oriented into audience development.
The cinema is a unique place to watch films. By showing quality contents it is strengthening its role as a curator and building trust as well as encouraging a sense of local community, both on- in off-line. The participants came to a unanimous conclusion that without promoting interest and demand for films the interest in film diversity in general will not grow. With the right investment in place cinemas can play a key role in developing audiences towards accepting diverse film programmes, and, at the same time, they can be much more than just a platform for creating demand.
The cinema is not intended just for film marketing, it is a space of activities – education, cultural diversity and connecting people. In the contemporary world film diversity and cinemas as spaces play a vital social and cultural role.
The conference raised the question how cinemas could become more accessible and open to audience participation and developing audiences. Different strategies for attainment of these goals were presented with innovative approaches from dynamic membership schemes to crowd-funding campaigns. Some cinemas shared their practical experiences with regard to online platforms (for instance on-demand videos or cinemas) which are not necessarily limiting, namely they can give cinemas an opportunity to broaden their offer.
The need for investment in new cinema facilities and continuous upgrade of the existing cinemas was especially highlighted.

The president of the Europa Cinemas network concluded the conference with the following words: »In previous Europa Cinemas’ conferences we were preoccupied by the digital transition and its implications for members. Now, with all Europa Cinemas members digitised, we have put the vital role of the cinema at the heart of the discussion and looked at a broad and fantastic selection of ideas and innovations from cinemas across Europe to engage audiences in the diversity of European film culture.«