This is how Cine Colombia got away with its reopening after more than a year of closure

On June 15, one of the country’s largest film companies reopened after more than a year of closure. After several reopening announcements, Cine Colombia has decided to welcome fans of the seventh art with strict biosafety regulations, seven premieres in theaters and a wide range of catering and services.

The opening of Cine Colombia is part of the process of opening that the city began on June 8, in which most of the economic sectors of the capital began to operate without time limits, despite respecting biosecurity protocols and regulations. respective capacity measures.

This Saturday, the president of the company Munir Falah spoke with El Radar of Blu Radio about what it was like these days of audiences in theaters, the strategies they used when the spaces were closed at the national level. and the preparation to be able to welcome him to the citizens.

“It has been long months of preparing for the reopening, adapting to all protocols and all the security requirements of our employees, the public and the infrastructure ”, Falah expressed.

In dialogue with the national broadcaster, the president of Cine Colombia recalled that it was time to take the decision to completely close the operations of the company, “It was very hard, we had just arrived from Europe and we had a lot more tact and understanding of what was going on and what was going to happen. When we arrived, we immediately made the decision to close and we prepared for a long time ”.

It was very hard on the staff and we were closed for 15 months.

Regarding the staff, he explained that “We have offered a significant number of employees an alternative plan to avoid such losses in their homes. From home, we put together a team that would keep the business running administratively and financially, ”said Falah.

He shared that initially the employees were paid in full, then some were sent on progressive vacation and after returning they continued to pay their wages.

However, to keep the business going and with the idea that the brand would not be forgotten, Munir Falah said he opened “ three professions: drive-in parks, houses with all the food and the digital platform. What we managed to do with that was to be able to keep the name of Cine Colombia in the minds of Colombians and that was one of the goals we had ”.

He also pointed out that the company managed to employ around 300 young university students who had previously worked.

Likewise, Route 90 – a project which began in January 2017 with the aim of bringing cinema to towns where it had never been – It has reinvented itself by supplying markets in vulnerable areas of Bogotá, bringing health items to hospitals and clinics, and showing free movies in neighborhoods of the capital. so that people can enjoy the magic of the seventh art from the tranquility and security of their own windows.

“We wanted the public you will find the cinemas in better condition than when they closed on March 14, 2020. We were even perhaps the first company in the country to completely close the operation “, the president of the company clarified on Blu Radio.

He said they are very happy with the reopening as they are very strict with biosafety protocols, “we are below what the government has allowed, this is how we wanted to start.”

He ensured that the staff are gifted and trained to comply with the ability and control of people arriving in theaters and that the cleanliness in all spaces is impeccable.

“A significant volume of tickets are purchased through our new web portal, around 20% or 25% of the ticket office. Of course, these people don’t have to go through the box office. Likewise, few lockers are used (so there is a bit of slowness) but we do it on purpose so that there is no crowd ”, explained the president of Ciné Colombia to the station.

Regarding the sale of food items such as confectionery, nachos, soda and sushi, Munir Falah said there is specific signage to keep distance online. “Likewise, in cinemas, there is an air extraction system which is constantly renewed and moreover the capacity is very reduced, it is handled with 50% of the audience.”

During the first two days of reopening, Falah said that around 40,000 people attended Cine Colombia cinemas nationwide, on 320 screens and 45 complexes in 15 municipalities in Colombia “It’s an interesting volume that we haven’t seen for a long time.”

Finally, in the dialogue with Blu Radio, the president of the company assured that “We are on the right track, people are comfortable in the theaters and we hope that soon we will see more volume ”.

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