The Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports yesterday convened a workshop at the Umana Yana to discuss the way forward for the troubled local cinema industry.

For quite some time now the cinema owners have been complaining about a decline in business to the point where they might have to close their doors. This, they say, is due mainly to unfair competition through television piracy of films and bottom house "cinemas."

The discussions attracted representatives from a cross section of the electronic media, cinema proprietors and related agencies.

Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, Ms. Gail Teixeira told the gathering that after constant discussions with the cinema owners, she decided that the issue should be dealt with in a more profound way because of the global and technological changes that have taken place and are continuing to take place at a rapid rate. She said the resolution of the problem encompasses several areas including legislation, censorship, licencing, entertainment services, cultural changes and experiences of other countries.

The minister said a 'cultural audit' is needed to assess the changing attitudes to culture, for instance, how many people visit national cultural institutions and places of entertainment, and in a global context 'determine where we are and where we are going.'

She said research into the cinema industry in Europe and other countries have shown that several factors have affected cinema attendances. These include security in the streets, and poverty, which reduces the spending power of people.

The minister said that for the cinema to survive, it will have to adapt to new methods and carry out structural changes to its infrastructure and its mode of operations, adding that funding to effect these changes will have to be dealt with. She also said that the matter has been engaging the attention of President Jagdeo and the Minister of Trade, Tourism and Industry in an effort to examine ways of providing some assistance to the cinema industry.

Media and Information Technology Specialist, Mr. Hugh Cholmondeley who was one of the presenters at the session, said that the information economy is making significant contributions to all areas of development, and changes in information technology will go on forever in ways which cannot be predicted. The long-term effect of these changes is, however, dramatic, irresistible and irreversible.

Telecommunications technology lies at the heart of technology and is the base for innovations in all industries. The fusion of so many household electronic devices is a demonstration of this, Cholmodeley posited.

Referring to the global entertainment industry, he said the trend now is to form partnerships and alliances and form huge conglomerates rather than competing individually against each other. Citing the example of the huge conglomerate, VIACOM, Cholmodeley said it will be showing a film-"Rug Rats" to 100 countries in 30 languages at the same time.

He said the new cinema industry in many countries is restructuring its marketing, delivery and distribution of films in accordance with global changes in information technology. In Britain, of the 494 cinemas, nearly one-third is currently being refurbished to meet the challenges of information technological changes. In addition, 100 new cinemas are under construction, Cholmodeley disclosed, and added that these are the challenges that the local industry will have to face, if it is to survive and expand.

He added that the challenges will not be complicated because eventually the World Trade Organisation will institute regulatory mechanisms, which will put the "noose" around the television stations who indulge in pirating of films.

Cholmodeley also reiterated the call for alliances and partnerships among the cinema proprietors to meet the challenges of the cinema industry.

Senior Counsel Bryn Pollard who also made a presentation said Guyana's copyrights law needs to be updated to meet the demands of the modern technological changes that are taking place today. Giving a brief background to the present legislation, Mr. Pollard said it is based on a British legislation, which dates to 1911, was amended in 1956, and became applicable to Guyana, which was then a colony of Britain.

However, he pointed out that revision of copyright legislation is hampered because changes in the law cannot keep up with the rate of technological changes.

Censorship is also a difficulty, Mr. Pollard said, describing it as "tricky" because of the varying concepts of morality among different societies.

The Senior Counsel observed that there is a tendency of property owners wanting the government or state to intervene on their behalf. He advised that instead they should move towards taking legal steps to protect their property rights, as is the case in many other societies.

President of the Cinema Proprietors Association, Mr Muntaz Ali presented several areas, which the association believes, will help the survival of the cinema in Guyana, which he said is crippling. He disclosed that in recent years, 25 cinemas have been closed, ten this year alone. This, he said, has resulted in the loss of 200 jobs, and revenue for the government.

Among the proposals he advanced, were creating a level playing field between the cinema and television by putting an end to pirating of films, implementation of copyright legislation, and the signing of a non-legal "gentleman's agreement” by television owners pledging not to pirate films while the legislation is being implemented. Also the association is calling on the government to give duty free concessions on equipment and related inputs required for the retooling and upgrading of the cinema industry.

Mr. Ali said given the support required, he is confident that the industry can 'rebound and flourish.'

University of Guyana lecturer and literary critic, Al Creighton urged cinema owners to use technological innovations to their benefit rather than compete with them, as is being done in other Caribbean countries.

He said contrary to what people feel the cinema industry is flourishing more than ever. The countries with the most advanced technology have the most advanced cinemas, he observed.

He related what has been done in several Caribbean countries, which experienced a similar decline in attendance to cinemas like Guyana. He explained that in Barbados and Trinidad cinemas have now been transformed into shopping malls providing several services. So a visit to the mall turns out to be an outing for the family. This approach has worked successfully in these countries, he said, and urged the local cinema owners to move in this direction.