BEST ENTREPRENEUR:
HENRICH-GEORG KLOSTER / YORCK KINO (GERMANY)


The first-time winner of this new award is a well-known figure in Germany. Heinrich-Georg Kloster operates 13 cinemas in Berlin and 4 in Munich, for a total of 26 screens, including 21 which belong to the network.

In the mid-Nineties, several multiplexes were built in Berlin, threatening to squeeze out the city’s independent cinemas. Heinrich-Georg Kloster reacted wisely to these developments and to this overabundance by choosing to close some of his cinemas, to renovate the others and to build new facilities in new areas. This bold investment policy enabled him to take off again with a chain of new or entirely renovated theatres.

The latter, having preserved their original charm, have remained especially attractive to movie buffs. With over a million filmgoers per year, he is the top independent exhibitor in the Berlin market, playing a decisive role in ensuring the presence of European films in the German capital.

(November 2003)