The minister said so while responding to a series of questions raised in a special statement made by DNA National List MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake.

Minister Rambukwella said there were 38 films in the waiting list to be screened and film producers had agreed to a proposed plan that would provide each of them with an evenhanded turn of releasing their movies to cinema theaters.  

“Arrival of the television and burning down cinema halls and aftermath results of the 1983 Black July had led Sri Lankan cinema into a crisis. But we have been able to remedy most of those problems and the number of cinema-goers has increased in the recent past. For example, one of the movies being screened in theatres currently has already earned more than four million US dollars,” the minister said.

He said that the Ministry of Mass Media and Information has formulated regulations and methods needed for the conversion of cinema theatres and other relevant aspects into the digital format. The use of digital projection in place of or as an alternative to 35 mm celluloid films that was used as the medium of film projection would be allowed. This had been done with the objective of developing the Sri Lankan film industry in line with sophisticated technological trends of the global cinema.

Accordingly, permission was granted for the use of digital projection which equals or surpasses the standard of electronic origination of 35 mm or 70 mm celluloid film projection which is used at present to project films in Cinema halls in place of or as an alternative to 35 mm or 70 mm celluloid films with effect from February 18, 2014.

Minister Rambukwella added that 22 privately owned cinema halls had already been digitalized and all cinema halls in the country would be digitalized by March next year. (Special Reporter/HC)