Fimstudio90 reopens

The seals have come off, and Filmstudio90 is opening again for its members. This news comes four months after the closure that caused a lot of discussion in Varese.

“We’re happy to give you good news at last: the cinema in Via De Cristoforis is opening again with a programme of films for members! After these four months of compulsory interruption, we can get back to business, which was halted by the sequestration and seals applied by the judicial authorities, following a complained by the Police in Varese. After a lot of joint meetings, last Tuesday, a decisive meeting was held in the town hall, after we had delivered the documents requested by local officials, showing that the cinema satisfies the safety regulations. These documents (certification of the seats and curtains, emergency doors, load test of the hall, noise impact etc.), together with the report produced by the engineer, and the letter in which the council agreed that the cinema complied with the regulations, were sent to the secretary of the Public Prosecutor, Sabrina Ditaranto.”

“Obviously, the hall continues to operate as a cinema club reserved for its members: it opened for this purpose in November 1993, after the renovation of the hall of the Cooperativa Unione Famigliare, which had previously been used as the headquarters of ANPI, the National Association of Italian Partisans. At that time, the renovation had already taken account of the regulations: floors, soundproofing, sound absorbing panels, seats and curtains already had the necessary certification. And the emergency exit and fire escape, which were built in 2004, were added to increase safety, and the closure of the service stairs from the ground floor, where there is the bar-restaurant (for public use), to the first floor (for private and member use) satisfied the regulations on building control. After the removal of the seals, a round table set up by the council led to the request to provide adequate certification, demonstrating compliance with the regulations.

Some work carried over the last few months has further increased the compliance of the room, which, with the favourable opinion of the authorities, can now continue as a venue for promoting important social and cultural events, for the members of our association.”

“However, the experience has shown that, in order to satisfy all of the regulations, in addition to strict membership, we must also very careful about how we publicise our events; since they are intended for the members, they can’t be advertised in the mass media, for example, without appropriately specifying that they are reserved for the association’s members. Even in newspaper entertainment guides, any reference to our events must specify that only members are allowed into the cinema. Thus, there is all the more reason to join Filmstudio90, a non-profit association that is actively involved in organising of events throughout the province, as all those, who have always acknowledged the cultural and educational value of the initiatives open to the public (such as the cinema in the Estensi Gardens, the programme of films and live shows in the Cinema Teatro Nuovo, the collaboration with municipalities, schools, libraries, associations) and of the screenings and meetings for members, at the historical cinema in Via De Cristoforis, well know. Moreover, we’re sure that this inconvenience will have strengthened the collaboration with the public, and benefited the whole community and province. It was a long winter for us, and maybe also for those who love quality cinema, not only in our province. Or for some of them, at least. It was a long winter, but it’s now over. And so: lights down, let the show begin again.”