Clamping down on piracy and a change in approach are the only alternatives to extinction for Guyana's cinema industry in the wake of the global information technology revolution sweeping the entertainment industry, according to media expert Hugh Cholmon-deley.

Speaking at the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport roundtable on the future of the local cinema industry at the Umana Yana, Georgetown, on Saturday, Cholmondeley warned that cinemas had to change to survive the advances made in home entertainment.

"Worldwide cinema industry has long accepted that the technology industry is responsible for exponentially expanding the mediums by which people entertain themselves at home," he said.

"No matter what government or anyone does," he said, "within the next five or six years every household with a television in Guyana will have access to at least 200 channels of international television."

This "process of irresistible and irreversible change" now demands a "challenge of survival [that] is not that complicated," according to Cholmondeley. He recommended putting "the noose around the neck of the TV stations that continue to pirate," making the cinema experience one that patrons are willing to leave their homes and pay for and creating partnerships between affiliates in both the local and global entertainment industry in order to survive.

Taking global giant Viacom as an example, Cholmondeley depicted the ways in which the entertainment industry had changed with technology and how cinema had remained a profitable venture.

"The real competition for the local film industry is Viacom and the other companies," he said.

According to Cholmondeley, Viacom consists of film giants Paramount Pictures, Nickelodeon (makers of Rug-Rats), MTV, CBS TV, video chain giant, Blockbuster Video, an extensive billboard network and publishers Simon and Schuster.

"That's the nature of the forming competition," he said.

"The intention is to scare people into action," Cholmondeley remarked, predicting worse to come if changes were not made.

He noted that cinemas in the developed world had revolutionised their approach to embrace technology and offer a unique, valuable experience.

According to the media expert, cinemas have been redesigned into multiplexes, housing multiple screens each with a capacity of around 200. They provide trained staff, unobstructed screen views, state-of-the art visual and sound experiences and a wide range of snacks and customer services.

Tackling the thorny copyright issue, Bryn Pollard, noted that the law had been left behind by technology with the British Copyright Act of 1956 forming Guyana's sole legislation.

While Jamaica, Trinidad, Barbados, St Lucia, Belize and Britain had updated their legislation to adjust to the changes, Guyana's draft 1999 copyright legislation had not been made law.

However, Pollard asserted that there was nothing to stop patrons affected by piracy taking legal action against transgressors, in line with the 1956 Act (made law in Guyana in 1966).

"People expect government to come to the rescue," he said, asserting that persons write letters to the press complaining there is no copyright law. "This is not true," he continued. "Filmmakers have to issue proceedings in the courts of Guyana," he recommended, as a means of combating TV movie piracy. "Legislation is not self-executing."

However, he conceded during floor discussions that the tardy legal system created problems in attempts to enforce legislation.

President of the Guyana Film Distributors and Exhibitors' Association, Muntaz Ali, blamed piracy on local television stations as the main reason for the industry's demise.

"Given a level playing field the Guyana film industry will flourish," he said.

In order to create this level playing field, Ali called for adequate protection against piracy from government and a gentleman's agreement for television stations to cease pirating material until legislation has been enacted.

He also recommended the regularisation of the video club industry and the granting of duty-free concessions for the cinema industry to aid recovery and upgrade facilities.

In return, Ali promised a "strict standard in cinemas" which will be monitored and instituted by his association.

He claimed that government had accepted that the "infringement of copyright cannot be allowed to continue" and that government "is fully aware that a lack of respect for copyright laws" can negatively affect relationships with donor countries. Implementation will boost investor confidence, he said.

The roundtable was organised by the ministry as an attempt to discuss issues surrounding the current crisis facing the cinema industry in Guyana and identified piracy and globalisation as key factors.

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sport, Keith Booker, noted that the "discussions will bring together new thoughts and redefine our focus and guide us to craft new legislation."

Minister of Culture, Gail Teixeira, remarked, "we are bereft of discussions of this type" and noted that cinema was not an area to be dismissed.

"The cinema still continues to provide a variety of people with entertainment," she said, warning that any reduction in the availability of culture to a country can contribute to the condition of poverty.

The session was attended by stakeholders from the cinema, television, media, public health, police and fire sectors.