The International Cinema Technology Association 2020-2021 award for innovation in cinema exhibition in Europe, the Middle East and Africa goes to Muvi Cinema, U-Walk, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia for Best New Build Cinema; to Cineplexx, Millennium City, Vienna, Austria for Best Cinema Refurbishment; and to Pathé Tuschinski, Amsterdam, The Netherlands for Classic Cinema of the Year.
Given current event restrictions and in place of the traditional awards event during CineEurope, ICTA produced a celebratory sizzle reel for online use, which showcases the winning cinemas, as well as video interviews with management of each cinema company. These videos are available on www.icta-web.com.
In a joint statement, ICTA's international directors Till Cussmann, Oliver Pasch and Jan Runge said, "Once again huge congratulations to all three award winners and their teams who ensure that cinemagoers have amazing and memorable experiences when they visit these outstanding theatres. Each cinema is a cutting-edge illustration of how the movie-going experience is currently being re-invented around the world in order to ensure that future generations will continue to enjoy films together on the big screen.”
“It is a great honor for Muvi Cinemas to be recognized by ICTA for Best New Build Cinema of the Year,” said Adon Quinn, COO, Muvi Cinemas, Saudi-Arabia “As the first homegrown cinema brand, and since Saudi Arabia is such a new market for cinemas, we realized the need to develop an outstanding facility in the capital of KSA. Muvi Cinema U-Walk aims to represent our brand promise and values to the audience by offering the best technology in the market with Dolby Cinema, Samsung Onyx LED Screen, ScreenX and our luxurious VIP cinema offering Muvi Suites. Cinema is more than just watching a movie; it is the overall experience we deliver to our customers from booking their tickets until the movie ends. We are extremely proud of the experience being provided to our guest at Muvi Cinemas U-Walk.”
“A big thank you to the entire ICTA community for presenting Cineplexx Millennium City with the Award for best cinema refurbishment in the EMEA region in 2020-2021,” said Christof Papousek, CFO and co-owner, Cineplexx Group, Austria. “The cinema is Cineplexx flagship site and offers audiences a truly immersive and state of the art cinema going experience. We with our partners redefined the role of digital signage in the cinema and with Dolby Cinema and Real D’s Ultimate Screen are offering two amazing PLF experiences.”
“We are very proud to be the winner of the ICTA’s Classic Cinema of the Year,” said Jacques Hoendervangers, managing sirector, Pathé Netherlands. “Innovation is at the core of our business. Next year Pathé Tuschinski will celebrate its 100th birthday and with its unique art-deco style it was already one of the most beautiful movie theatres in the world. This year we brought the exclusiveness and grandeur back to all rooms, we built a unique cocktail bar and we updated the screens to the latest technology. So our visitors can enjoy an exclusive day or night out with their friends or family in the style of the 1920’s, but with the technology and comfort of today. We are very honored that the film experts of ICTA acknowledge the beauty of this exceptional theatre.”