During these trying and uncertain times, we hope to be able to spread a little bit of love and movie magic by showcasing some of the wonderful exhibitors that we work with.
We spoke to Ola Starmach of Kino Pod Barami in Krakow about how the cinema can act as a key space for every community, about ensuring people feel safe as they return to the big screen, and more.
Tell us a little more about you and your cinema.
Kino Pod Baranami is situated in a unique location – Renaissance Pod Baranami palace in the heart of Krakow, at the Main Market Square. It has three screening rooms named after Kieślowski’s Trilogy: Red Auditorium (128 seats), Blue Auditorium (112 seats) and White Auditorium (30 seats). This is an art house cinema, a member of the Europa Cinemas network (we received an award from them for programming in 2009).
We present plenty of special screenings, film reviews and festivals. Many of them followed by discussions and Q&As. We are also the organisers of the annual Silent Film Festival - the first of its kind in Poland.
Can you tell us your earliest cinematic memory?
My very first cinema experience was the screening of The Lion King at the age of 6. It was in my hometown in the south of Poland where there was just one big cinema auditorium with an impressive painted ceiling. I went to see the movie with my sister’s classmates (I begged my parents to let me go!) and then with the group of pupils from my kindergarten (I didn’t know we were also being taken to watch it!). So I saw the same great animated film twice in, I guess, one week. And I liked it just the same both time! This is how my love for the cinema started, along with my habit of watching one movie several times in a short period of time.
The Lion King (1994)
How did you first get into film programming and exhibition? What have you learned since?
I was studying Film Studies at Jagiellonian University here in Kraków and applied for a summer internship at Kino Pod Baranami. I spent that summer of 2008 learning how the cinema works in practice – from programming to relations with the audience. I used this once in a lifetime opportunity to present myself, my organisational skills and passion for the cinema. And I was asked to join the cinema’s programming crew. And here I am, over 10 years later – still loving it!
As for what I have learned, first of all, there is something that you can apply to any job; if there is no passion, there will be no success and, what is more, no fun and satisfaction. I think that the most important thing while running a cinema or doing a festival is that you have to listen to the audience. Because we are doing this for them, or rather, 'with' them.
I am rather unhappy with the fact that there are thousands of films that I would love to show in our cinema but they are too expensive or out of reach (rights ownership, etc.). However, one can be creative and do cool stuff even with no big budget. This is the path we follow.
Last but not least, (unfortunately) being a film exhibitor doesn’t mean you spend all day watching movies (true story, Mum!).
Why do you think the big screen experience is so important for audiences?
Obviously, there are films that cannot be watched in any other place on Earth except the movie theatre. And that’s indisputable!
The big screen, perfect sound and other people sitting in the room that came in for the same reason as you. Cinema is a collective experience - you laugh, cry and are scared with others. Also, in today’s world full of screens and pop-up ads, the cinema auditorium gives a space to focus on the film you watch – to be fully immersed in the journey the film is taking you on.
Kino Pod Baranami promotes the idea of a cinema as a meeting place, where a film screening can be an impulse for further exploration. I am pretty sure that this might be another reason the audience comes to the cinema: to talk, to be heard and be a part of the community.
Tell us about how you’ve planned for your cinema reopening, following these most turbulent of times for us all? What are your audiences now enjoying?
On April 12, after a month of lockdown in Poland, we launched our virtual screening rooms. This marked the very first virtual cinema in Poland! We are now operating in 'real life' but still programming our streaming platform where one can find carefully selected films and special screenings. This is a gift from us for everyone who is still unsure of going to the cinema or cannot join us because of their health conditions or is simply far away from Kraków.
We have already started our Summer Film Festival KINOBRANIE, or rather 'the 2020 version' of this annual festival – with only half of seats available to occupy but invariably with cheaper ticket price and with over 100 films in total (shown in the cinema auditorium and in our virtual screening rooms). We are doing our best to ensure our audience to feel safe and comfortable in these specific conditions. We also made a short trailer which encourages moviegoers to wear masks while in the cinema (shown before every screening).
Since the re-opening we have been doing a lot of preview screenings and film reviews that were planned for spring 2020: Spanish Film Week, French Film Review, Italian Cinema Film Review, and so on. Hopefully we will be coming back with screenings with discussion and Q&A's with filmmakers. That’s the plan! Step by step... and with a mask on!
