CINEMA owners and their employees continued to press demands for legislation to protect their rights against unfair competition, by mounting picketing activities for the second day running outside the New Garden Street entrance of the Office of the President yesterday.

At a press conference held at Global Films Headquarters on Waterloo Street on Thursday, Director of Global Films Distributing Company, Mr. Muntaz Ali, pointed out that the cinema industry in Guyana is on the verge of collapse with the imminent closure of another ten cinemas.

The most recent to have shut its doors were at Melanie Damishana, East Coast Demerara.

Cinema owners blame this situation on what they refer to as blatant ‘piracy’ by local television stations of films released in the United States; the activities of boot-leggers; the mushrooming of video parlours and the unlicensed ‘bottom house’ video clubs which continue to operate to the detriment of licensed cinemas which must conform to the codes of the Cinema Censorship Board.

In addition, the heavy costs that must be borne by cinemas even as they face unfair competition from their rivals, make it virtually impossible for them to remain in business.

From a situation where, ten years ago the ‘sold out’ phenomenon was a common parlance in the cinema industry, cinemas are now taking a licking, with the result that it is no longer economically feasible to hold more than one show per day.

And so, instead of three shows daily, cinemas are now struggling with one per day, which they hold at nights. The situation has become so bad that sometimes there are ten to 15 patrons at a show.

“From 14 to 18 shows per week, we have now come down to five,” Secretary of the Film Distributors Association, Mr. Dilip Singh lamented.

At best, there are about 20 patrons turning up to see a show, at worst - one or two. With the cost of tickets ranging between $100 and $200, the cinemas are indeed in deep trouble.

The operators contend that the state of the cinema industry is so ‘bleak’ today, that it warrants immediate intervention by the President of Guyana, and the enacting of Copyrights laws without fail.

The continuous closure of the cinemas has dealt a devastating blow to the industry, which has, through the years had a reputation for being one of the best and cheapest forms of relaxation and entertainment. Worse, it has left hundreds of persons out of employment. Proprietors are saddled with high overheads, which they can no longer manage, and businesses in the red.

They owners claim that since 1992, they have been lobbying for protection from these unfair quarters, but to no avail.

“All we are receiving are promises,” the evidently frustrated men argued.

They also recall that in 1993, the then Information Minister, Moses Nagamootoo, at the recommissioning of the Astor Cinema, assured owners that the legislation would have been taken to Parliament within three months.

It is now three times three years, and nothing has been done.

And more recently, Mr. Muntaz Ali said, President Bharrat Jagdeo announced at a summit in Miami, that the copyright legislation would be in place within the first quarter of the year 2000.

“And while the President is saying that the private sector is the engine of growth, it appears it does not apply for us,” he argued.

To compound the situation, the owners claim that any attempt to take the matter to the courts is a waste of time, since the legal people are saying that there is no system in place to protect the cinemas.

Noting that Guyana is a signatory to the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), which supports the imposition of criminal laws to protect goods and businesses, the committee observed that Guyana has been honouring this in the breach.

“This is blatant disregard for the rules of convention,” the incensed committee members argued.

Mr Dilip Singh, Managing Director of Ginata Films emphasised “We cannot continue to operate under this kind of lawlessness.”

He recalled many instances where cinemas had advertised shows for particular dates, and television houses had deliberately and in blatant defiance shown the film, if not simultaneously with the cinema, a few days before.

When this happens, people no longer want to pay to view the show because they would have already seen it on television. In addition, the cinemas are subjected to having their movies censored by the Cinematographic Board, for which they have to pay as much as $13,000 to $20,000. But television stations release the movies without any censoring done.

Over the last ten years the number of cinemas in Guyana has reduced from 50 to about 20, with another ten expecting to close their doors soon These are: Palm Tree, Linden; Vijay, Good Hope; Tiffany, Parika; Raj Mahal, Canje; Gem, Enmore and Regal at Vreed-en-Hoop. And of some 750 persons employed within the industry at that time, there are now less than 100.

Those cinemas already closed are: Novelty, Corentyne, Radio City, Skeldon; Appolo, Rose Hall; Strand, New Amsterdam; Kaydonna, Beterverwagting; Liberty, Georgetown; Starlite Poudroyen; Monarch, Anna Catherina; Atlantis, Essequibo Coast; Mohani, Corentyne and the Melanie Damishana Cinema.