The Event Cinema Association has launched the first website to promote and support live and recorded cinema events, also known as alternative content, which is increasingly being screened and finding new audiences in cinemas around the world. The website – www.livecinemaevents.com – offers film distributors, cinemas, producers as well as consumers, a comprehensive directory of live events and alternative recorded content as well as a release date calendar for scheduling.
Ballet, opera, sport, live music and theatre are appearing regularly on screens worldwide but until now there has been no clear listings website to find out what is showing and when.
Distributors of event cinema are also able to upload details about their events, making it an interactive and comprehensive database of live events and recorded content. To assist cinema operators, the website provides information and links to the distributor of the content and the rights holder as well as their respective contact details. Consumers can also learn more about a specific production, see previews and editorial.
Current events detailed on the site include Swan Lake 3D in cinemas across the UK that began June 6, Opera Australia’s A Masked Ball that begins June 20 and the hotly anticipated music documentary Springsteen & I July 22.
Springsteen & I is a beautifully crafted film, executive produced by Ridley Scott, which shows a unique and powerful insight into the relationship between Bruce Springsteen and the impact he has on those who connect so profoundly with his music. He burst onto the rock scene 40 years ago and his music defines a generation, but behind the songs were remarkable stories about the fans who lived them. Now audiences everywhere can discover how the sound of Bruce Springsteen became the soundtrack to our lives.
Melissa Keeping, chairman of the ECA, said, “Since setting up the Event Cinema Association last year, it has become clear that the event cinema industry is lacking a resource where producers, distributors, cinemas and consumers can access detailed information about the different content on offer on screens around the world. Our ambition for this website is that it will provide those working in the industry and fans of event cinema an online space where they can find all the information about the diverse and inspiring range of content available right around the world.”
“The ECA is providing a very necessary resource for all those involved in the industry with exclusive research, promotion for distributors, insight into event cinema and the opportunity to meet others working in this sector. When we launched the ECA last September this was one of our key objectives and I’m delighted this has become a reality. This website is another step towards further uniting and supporting the event cinema industry as it continues to grow and develop.”
Event cinema is the screening of alternative content delivered digitally to cinemas. The ECA engages with non-traditional content providers such as theatre, musicals, operas, sport and dance, looking to reach a wider demographic right across the UK and Europe through a network of cinemas. Most recently museums have started to look to cinemas as a way to bring their collections and exhibitions to audiences worldwide. The British Museum is to screen a recording of Pompeii Live a tour of its exhibition of Roman life before a devastating volcanic eruption to 1,000 cinemas across the world. More than 200,000 tickets have been sold for the live screening in the UK and Ireland June 18 with the recording to be screened in cinemas in 51 countries later in the year.
Melissa Keeping will also be presenting at CineEurope, the European trade show in Barcelona taking place June 24-27.