GAY CINEMA NIGHT LAUNCHED

The art-house cinemas of Ster Kinekor – South Africa’s largest film theatre chain – Cinema Nouveau will be meeting the seemingly insatiable desire for great gay movies every Wednesday from 12 April 2006. “Pink Wednesdays” will see a memorable gay or lesbian themed film shown weekly at Cinema Nouveau.

Inspired by the remarkable growth of Out In Africa – the most successful film festival in the country; last year boasting an attendance of 18 000 – Pink Wednesdays target the ardent gay and lesbian film-going audience. (A survey by Mambaonline has shown that an astonishing 49% of respondents had seen a movie in the last week.)

“It’s clear that the gay community is passionate about film. And that’s something we want to both reward and continue to stimulate,” says Fiaz Mohamed, CEO Ster-Kinekor Theatres.

And judging by the critical and commercial mainstream success of films like Brokeback Mountain, more and more people – especially Nouveau audiences – are open to quality movies that reflect an alternative way of life.

“Gay and lesbian film is increasingly being accepted as a dynamic and groundbreaking genre of filmmaking by wider audiences. In fact, we see that gay people often take their straight friends and family to see gay movies,” notes Luiz De Barros, Editor of Mambaonline.

A new film will be selected and screened every fortnight; a combination of new releases and classics from the archives of the festival. Each film will be shown on two consecutive Wednesdays – on one screen, four times a day – at every Cinema Nouveau screened by Jameson cinema nationwide. Tickets will be at standard box office price and full Ster-Kinekor Movie Club benefits apply.

Pink Wednesdays kick off on the 12th of April 2006. Tickets can be purchased at cinema box offices, from cinema Self-Service Terminals, by calling TicketLine 082 16789 or online: www.sterkinekor.com.