Hungary – Tisza Mozi (Szolnok)

Tisza Mozi is located in the city center of Szolnok, on the bank of the River Tisza, near the footbridge. Originally the arthouse cinema was built as a Jewish community centre. It has operated as a movie theatre since 1955 but after some renovation, in 2005 the cinema reached its current form.

The cinema was built as an old time movie theatre. At the beginning of the 80’s it grew out from one screen to a cinema with three screens today. At that time, a cinema with several screens was known as a “bush” cinema. At the beginning was a good place but the used technology, the old machines and the materials available made it low-quality. After the political transformation, private cinemas were allowed. At first, we rented the building of Tisza Mozi, but in 1996 our company bought it from the local government. We digitalized it between 2013 and 2015. The screens and the ventilation were renovated and the cinema became more and more popular among the audience.

The cinema is a multicultural place where beside screenings, other cultural events like film festivals, film clubs, concerts and various other programs linked to art take place.

We organize a wide range of programs for the young audience. We have two film clubs for them, and for seven years we’ve been organizing an annual summer film camp. We also offer premiere screenings and we often invite youtubers, who are mostly popular among youngsters. They have the opportunity to discuss after the screenings and the audience have the chance to write critiques about movies which are published in the local county newspaper.

We also stablished a strong connection with our audience. The communication has three main channels. Firstly, our brochure with the screening schedule appears monthly in 1,000 copies. Along with our posters, they turn up at schools, cultural centers and many public places. Older generations enjoy to have the printed programmes.

Secondly, and for the younger ones, we have the cinema website, and we are present in social media. Furthermore, we built partnerships with the local media and our latest news are on air daily on the city’s most popular radio station.

We are proud of the Crea(c)tive Film Club, which started in our cinema and has now spread all over the country. It has become a national movement as an Active Cinema-Public Media Workshop.