Expert articles

Úsmev Cinema: The story of a forgotten cinema

Úsmev Cinema is located in Kasárenské Square 1, in the immediate centre of Košice and has resided there since 1922. Originally served as a casino for officers, became a cinema named Centrál in 1929. After the Second World War, the cinema was renamed to Úsmev (Smile) and the building expanded adding a spacious foyer for the viewers. The cinema run continuously until 2012 when it ended its operations.

Úsmev Cinema can be considered one of the oldest landmarks in Košice. In addition to five political regimes and two names, it has experienced many different facets of the metropolis of the east – a canal called Mlynský náhon, which used to cross the centre until 1968, the historical houses surrounding it, the demolition of these houses, the construction of the Slovak railway, the construction of the first modern business centre called Prior, famous premieres, one door torn down by eager viewers who were rushing to see the Tarzan movie, Christian delegations from across the region  coming to see the premiere of the film The Passion of the Christ, or a crowd of crying viewers at the most visited movie in the history of cinema – Titanic.

Everyone in Košice recognises Úsmev Cinema. Almost everyone keeps a memory of it in some way – whether going to see the first screening of a children’s fairytale, going on a first date, bunking off school or spending their lazy weekends there. All the more sad was the reality in 2012, when this cinema, the last cinema residing in its own venue in Košice (referred to in Slovakia as a ‘stone’ cinema), ended its operation. New technologies that most single screen cinema owners could not invest in, and a drop in traffic caused these cinemas to disappear completely. People began connecting their visits to the cinema with shopping and exchanged the historic venues for the convenience of multiplex cinemas. As the quality ceased to interest the audience, the more demanding viewers had to make do with occasional screenings in cultural centres, or watch movies in the comfort of their home.

During this period, the only film club in Košice – Biograf, which used to reside in the East Slovak Gallery in a small, barely a fifty-seat cinema, was closed. The Cinefil civic association, which operated this film club as well as a very successful Cinefil film club at the Dominican Square, found itself without a suitable venue for its activities. The European Capital of Culture 2013 project, unfortunately, did not plan on building a new cinema. The city had been experiencing more culture since 2012 than ever before in its history, but members of the Cinefil civic association were experiencing the biggest crisis in their operation, which partially put a brake on the activities and some changes within the team were made. The leadership of the project to build a ‘stone’ theatre in Košice was taken on by Lukáš Berberich, who worked as a music curator at Tabacka Kulturfabrik. The project of Centre for Audiovisual Culture in Úsmev Cinema was presented to the City of Košice in 2012 with the request to rent the building.

Úsmev Cinema was identified as the most suitable venue for the revival of cinematic activities in the city since it was in a well preserved state – consisting of two cinemas (the main cinema housing 343 seats remained fully furnished), an entrance, a cash desk, a projection cab with a functional 35mm projection technology and extensive underground spaces were the most suitable premises for the creation of the Centre for Audiovisual Culture. This new venue was to consist of two cinemas, a café/bar, a mediatheque, a studio for artists and a shop.

The City of Košice, absorbed by the title of the European Capital of Culture 2013, did not pay much attention to the project to restore the operation of the popular Úsmev Cinema. Cinefil managed to get the cinema building for six months in 2013, but was allowed only a few days of operation per month, with the keys to the cinema building having to be returned each day to the city magistrate’s office, and the lease had to be renewed every month. The Cinefil team took on board new members, all of whom worked on a voluntary basis. Movie enthusiasts and people who wished to see the cinema operating again were in most cases students who left to study abroad in the years to come. In January 2014, the city declined the repeated request for the lease of the cinema and did not change opinion even after a petition, which received nearly 2,500 signatures in the first week.

In 2014, Cinefil once again found itself without a venue, but still continued to develop its activities. Collaborations with various festivals and organisations continued and the organisation turned into a “nomadic” cinema that used different venues around the city. One of such collaborations is the visit of a Japanese filmmaker Kaoru Furuko, who worked on a short animated film inspired by Slovak folk tales. The Cinefil team also participated in the Escalator training programme for cultural operators in Košice. During this period, they also held a debate about the fate of Úsmev Cinema and the premises for cinemas in the city in general, but it did not lead to any success.

The Slovak Audiovisual Fund (AVF) issued an unofficial stance at the beginning of 2015 that it will be the last year when possible to apply for support for cinematic digitalisation. The nationwide support scheme was supposed to end that year, and the possibility of digitalising smaller, non-commercial, single screen cinemas would have been almost impossible without this support. For Cinefil, it was the last chance to put up a fight for Úsmev Cinema’s building, or to find other premises in Košice for the implementation of the Centre for Audiovisual Culture project. In order to obtain the subsidy, it was necessary to submit to the AVF a contract for long-term lease of premises. What  followed were far more intense meetings and dialogues with the representatives of the City of Košice, working on a business case, studying laws, executing a structural assessment proving that the building was operational. The first success came after the approval of the proposal to include the project of the Centre for Audiovisual Culture at Úsmev Cinema and the long-term lease by the Cinefil civic association to the vote of MPs at the City Council in June 2015.

Finally a success for the film in Košice and for the Cinefil civic association. In June 2015, MPs voted unanimously to rent the Úsmev Cinema’s building to the Cinefil civic association for fifteen years, with a special arrangement of just € 1 per year, with Cinefil committing to building the Centre for Audiovisual Culture, digitalise and renovate the cinema within five years.

Since June 2015 Cinefil was working on reopening the cinema and setting up the operations. The Úsmev Cinema’s facade, designed by the renowned architectural studio zerozero, was refurbished, the park in front of the cinema and all the interiors were cleaned. A café with a retro style atmosphere was created at the entrance of the cinema, and the entire interior covered by carpet. New furniture was made for the café and the cinema was finally digitalised. The new screen, sound and projection technology has made the old cinema a competitive cinema that can screen all the latest titles in the distribution.

The once forgotten corner in the centre of Košice has come back to life and joy from the film experience returned. Úsmev Cinema screens movies at least twice a day for different target groups. Even mainstream viewers will come to their own, because the new cinema’s production motto is to screen everything new, contemporary, which meets certain criteria of taste and quality. Whether it’s Hollywood blockbusters or the more artful titles for the more demanding viewer. In the summer, visitors enjoy a summer terrace and street food stalls in front of the cinema. The Cinefil team (now the Úsmev Cinema team) has also organised the first street food festival in Košice.

This is how the happy story of one abandoned cinema in Košice began and continues. It is not common for old abandoned cinemas in Europe or the world to experience reopening and to be revived thanks to the sheer enthusiasm of individuals who care about the city they live in and the cultural infrastructure that the city offers. They do not want to leave their hometown, but instead be creative and create job opportunities for themselves and for others. Community action, a term known for  decades and common to the countries of Western Europe, is finally coming to the countries of the former Eastern Bloc, and changes the grey cities into small cultural havens.

And let’s not forget the most important fact – the movies are filmed to be seen on a large screen. And no multiplex can beat a half-lit old cinema auditorium with creaking seats.