After a strong 2019 in cinemas (see the news), and with a record-breaking opening for the domestic film Scumbag [+leggi anche:
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scheda film] earlier this year (see the news), Slovakian cinemas were looking set for a good start to the 2020 season. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has thwarted expectations, as all of the cinemas were forced to close their doors following the preventive measures taken to ensure social distancing and self-isolation. The Slovakian Association of Cinema Operators and Union of Film Distributors have calculated the losses for the period 10-26 March 2020 to be €4,660,652 (total box-office revenue, including income from renting out space, selling refreshments and advertisement), based on the average numbers for 2019 (total earnings of €37,258,401, monthly average of €3,104,867 and daily average of €102,078). The cinemas are expected to remain shuttered for at last six more weeks.

Some cinema operators are resorting to online screenings in order to recoup part of the losses. The city cinema Kino Lumiere in the capital of Bratislava, run by the Slovak Film Institute, has started up a “home cinema” initiative. Unlike on VoD services, the films are screened as a livestream without the option of stopping or rewinding. Viewers can interact with each other before, during or after the movie via chat. Kino Lumiere is currently livestreaming Céline Sciamma's Portrait of a Lady on Fire [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Céline Sciamma
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intervista: Nicolas Bedos
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Q&A: Marco Bellocchio
scheda film]. The Slovak Association of Film Clubs is also rolling out some of its acquisitions online as video on demand, including Grímur Hákonarson's Rams [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Grimur Hakonarson
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Q&A: Michael Haneke
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The Slovakian arm of VoD service DAFilms has recorded a three-fold hike in viewership numbers during the quarantine period (although the Slovak branch only started operations on 1 February 2020). The most-watched titles are Pavol Pekarčík's Silent Days [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Pavol Pekarčík
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intervista: Marko Škop
intervista: Milan Ondrík
scheda film], Jiří Havelka's comedy Owners [+leggi anche:
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scheda film], which recently netted prizes at the Czech Lion Awards (see the news) and the Czech Film Critics’ Awards (see the news), Juro Šlauka's Punk Never Ends! [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Juraj Šlauka
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intervista: Iveta Grófová
scheda film] by Iveta Grófová. Most recently, the young distribution company Filmtopia decided to roll out an online initiative, starting with the award-winning Macedonian documentary Honeyland [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Ljubomir Stefanov, Tamara …
intervista: Tamara Kotevska, Ljubomir …
scheda film] by Tamara Kotevska and Ljubomir Stefanov, which was nominated for the 92^nd Academy Awards in the Best International Feature Film and Best Documentary Feature categories, and the documentary Solo [+leggi anche:
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intervista: Artemio Benki
scheda film] by producer-director Artemio Benki, which won the Czech Joy! Best Documentary Award at the 2019 Ji.hlava International Documentary Film Festival.

On 22 April, Slovakia began relaxing its strict pandemic preventive measures, a process that is now unfolding in four phases. According to this plan, cinemas will open in the fourth phase, which is expected to take place on 3 June, on condition that the number of infected people doesn’t rise significantly during the process of opening up the domestic economy.