BEST YOUNG AUDIENCE ACTIVITIES:
CINEMA PARADISO, ST. PÖLTEN (AUSTRIA)

Youth to the fore!

Cinema Paradiso, which opened in 2002, has developed into a major venue in the small town of St. Pölten. With its two theatres, one offering 118 and the other 60 seats, the cinema is attracting more than 40,000 people a year. In 2005, it was one of the few Austrian cinemas that experienced an increase in admissions. This success can be attributed both to the quality of the programming and to the comfort it offers the public. Having taken over the site of a former commercial cinema that had closed its doors following the arrival of a multiplex on the outskirts of the town, the Cinema Paradiso team wanted to create a venue with a warm, convivial atmosphere. With a bar, a summer terrace and a multi-purpose hall, the cinema, which also plays host to concerts, exhibitions and even public readings, has no shortage of strengths.

Particular attention has been paid to welcoming young audiences. "We are keen to show children who are used to seeing blockbusters at the local multiplex that there are other forms of cinema", explains Gerald Knell. This initiative focuses as much on family audiences as it does on schoolchildren. Families can discover at least one film a week as part of Cinema Kid. As far as possible, the films shown are European, with Sweden’s Pippi Longstocking and Germany’s Die wilden Hühner, two examples of films that have recently been on the bill. Schoolchildren are able to benefit from the Cinema School programme, which is intended for children and adolescents between the ages of 6 and 18. At the end of the projections, they are regularly invited to meet the directors of the films they have seen, such as, recently, Sabine Derflinger and Andreas Gruber.

Cinema Paradiso also offers special weeks for schoolchildren two or three times a year. The screenings are organised around a theme that encourages them to think about modern society, and the films are discussed with experts associated with social, economic, ecological or even political subjects. The price of a ticket is fixed at € 3 for schoolchildren and € 5 for everyone else. The last event of this kind was held from 8 to 11 November 2006 under the title "Gemeinsam für eine gerechte Welt", or "Everyone together for a fair world".

(November 2006)

www.cinema-paradiso.at